Cubs, Rockies meet for wild card NL after losing playoffs
Cubs, Rockies meet for wild card NL after losing playoffs
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Manager Joe Maddon and the Chicago Cubs insist they still have a lot to do to make another deep run in the postseason.
What they do not have is space for error.
The Cubs will host the Colorado Rockies in the wild card game on Tuesday, after both teams lost the tiebreak games for their division's championships.
"We are not dead in the water," said Maddon.
The Cubs will send ace Jon Lester (18-6, 3.32 ERA) to the mound, hoping to keep their season after a 3-1 loss to Milwaukee for the National League Central Division championship at Wrigley Field Monday.
They will return to the old baseball stadium, trying to eliminate Colorado after the Rockies dropped a tiebreaker for NL West against the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-2. Kyle Freeland (17-7, 2.85) starts for the Rockies, and the winner gets Milwaukee in the best-of-five Division series that begins on Thursday at Miller Park.
Colorado and the Cubs split six games this year, each scoring 33 runs. They have not faced each other since early May.
National League home run champion Nolan Arenado and the Rockies (91-72) had won nine of 10 before rookie Walker Buehler closed it in a 5-2 loss Monday. Colorado has never won its division.
"I'm excited about that," manager Bud Black said. "It's going to be a great ambient Tomorrow at Wrigley. Your manager and I go back. This team likes to play on the big stage. "
Charlie Blackmon, who had two of Colorado's four hits on Monday, called it "an incredible opportunity."
"The fact is that we have the opportunity to win the World Series," he added.
The Cubs (95-68) made the playoffs for the fourth consecutive year, with a franchise record, and had a third consecutive division championship in sight, only to be rejected by the Brewers.
But the Cubs are also a difficult team to keep down.
They have three consecutive appearances in the National League Championship Series and a World Series championship in 2016 that ended with a 108-year drought. They are not oblivious to the narrow places and are in another, after Milwaukee caught them in the regular season stretch.
The Brewers won four of six against Chicago in September to help forge the playoff game after the Cubs went from being behind them by 4 1/2 games in the division to leading by five. Milwaukee pulled out even in the last weekend.
The Cubs then made only three hits on Monday against Jhoulys Chacin and four relievers. They were also retained for a race or less for the 39th time, even though they ranked fourth in the National League in scoring.
"We have another chance," said Maddon. "I've been involved with wild card teams that have gone to the end.
Maddon was the bench coach of the Angels in 2002 when they won the World Series as a wild card. And the Cubs have certainly won their share of elimination games over the past four seasons.
They defeated Pittsburgh in the wild card game in 2015 after finishing third in the division behind St. Louis and the Pirates. In 2016, they recovered from 3-1 in the World Series and won Game 7 in Cleveland to take home the first championship in 108 years. And they beat Washington in a grueling Division series last year, winning Game 5 on the road.
"This is nothing new for us," said outfielder Jason Heyward.
They feel safe with Lester, who will become the first pitcher to start two wild card games. He gave the Royals six runs in 2014, while with Oakland in a 9-8 loss and 12 innings.
Lester went 6-1 with a 1.71 ERA in his last eight starts. He has been particularly stingy in the postseason throughout his career, with a record of 9-7 with a 2.55 ERA in 25 games and 21 starts.
The Cubs suffered a long list of injuries and the players did not behave as they expected, whether Yu Darvish made only eight starts after signing a $ 126 million contract or Kris Bryant made two trips to the disabled list due to an inflammation in his left shoulder.
Anthony Rizzo had a slow start before crying. Willson Contreras collapsed after the All-Star break.
Nothing has come easily. There were difficulties along the way. And there is some disappointment around them even though they are once again in the postseason.
"It's definitely a little different," said Rizzo. "But the whole narrative changes (on Tuesday) if we win the game."
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More MLB AP: https://apnews.com/tag/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP-Sports
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