The Cubs are just one win away from the NLCS

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There was a decided shortage of baseball yesterday as the Dodgers-Nationals game was postponed due to rain, but thankfully the Giants-Cubs game went on as planned. And boy, did it ever go on. Jeff Samardzija, who hasn’t been too good against teams with .500 records or better this season, was —surprise! — not very good against the Cubs. He lasted just two innings and gave up four runs. Cubs starter Kyle Hendricks had a similarly short outing, but his was vastly different. He hit a two-run single in the second inning and helped his own cause, but was hit by an Angel Pagan comebacker in the fourth and left the game. (The X-rays were negative and he has a forearm contusion.)

But the most exciting, over-the-top moment from this game came from Travis Wood, who replaced Hendricks and got the last out of the fourth inning. Joe Maddon let Wood, a decent hitter, hit for himself in the bottom of the inning. And it paid off in an incredible way. Wood hit a solo home run that lit up the Wrigley Field crowd like a firework. Madison Bumgarner pinch hit in the next half-inning, but he couldn’t match Wood’s heroics.

Not only was the Cubs’ 5-2 victory a thrill to watch, there were also a slew of fun baseball facts to go along with it. According to Jayson Stark, Wood is only the second reliever in baseball history to hit a home run in the postseason, and the first since 1924. Hendricks and Wood both pitched and brought in a run in the same game, the first time two teammates have done that in the postseason since 1992. And here’s a romantic bit of coincidence: Travis Wood’s homer traveled 393 feet to left center, which is the exact same distance and placement of Kerry Wood’s postseason homer in 2003. Is that an ominous sign? Maybe, but the Cubs need just one more win to make to the NLCS. Both teams now head to San Francisco to see if the Cubs can lock it down, or if the Giants can make a stunning comeback. With all that even-year magic, you can’t count them out just yet.