By Jeremy Kahn
AP photo: The Chicago Cubs compile a Cub pile on the pitchers mound at AT&T Park after Cubs ace reliever Aroldis Chapman retires the side in the San Francisco Giants bottom of the ninth to clinch a birth in the National League Championship Series next on Tuesday night
SAN FRANCISCO-Entering the top of the ninth inning with a three-run lead at home, it looked like the San Francisco Giants were about to force a decisive fifth game against the Chicago Cubs.
Unfortunately, there will be no fifth game, as the Cubs erupted for four runs in the top of the ninth inning and took the National League Division Series with a 6-5 victory before a sellout crowd of 43,166 at AT&T Park.
This was the biggest comeback in postseason history when a team trailed in the ninth inning, as the Cubs four run ninth surpassed the New York Mets 1986 three run comeback in the top of the ninth inning in Game Six of the National League Championship Series against the Houston Astros.
Matt Moore, who pitched eight innings was replaced by Derek Law after the left-hander threw 120 pitches in those eight innings.
Law faced just one batter, as Kris Bryant singled to left-center field and Bruce Bochy brought on Javier Lopez to Anthony Rizzo, who proceeded to walk. Bochy then replaced Lopez with Sergio Romo, who immediately gave up a double to Ben Zobrist, who doubled down the right field line to score Bryant.
After the Zobrist double, Cubs manager Joe Maddon sent Chris Coghlan up as a pinch hitter and then Bochy matched him, as he replaced Romo with Will Smith. Maddon then pinch hit Coghlan with rookie Willson Contreras, who singled up the middle to score both Rizzo and Zobrist to tie up the game.
The barrage continued, as Jason Heyward hit into a force play that retired Contreras at second base; however Brandon Crawford’s throw bounced past Brandon Belt at first base for an error, sending Heyward to second base.
Following the Crawford error, his second of the game, Bochy went to the bullpen again and brought on Hunter Strickland, who gave up a single to Game One hero Javier Baez, who singled up the middle to score Heyward from second base to give the Cubs the lead.
With the Cubs now leading, Maddon went to his closer Aroldis Chapman and unlike Monday night, Chapman was his usual dominant self, as he struck out the side to end the game and end the Giants season.
The Giants got to Cubs starter John Lackey in the first inning, as Denard Span doubled down the right field line, Span advanced to third when Belt flew out to center field and then Span gave the Giants the lead when he scored on a Buster Posey sacrifice fly to right field.
David Ross tied up the game in the top of the third inning, as he took a Moore offering and supplanted it into the left field bleachers. Ross became the oldest catcher at the age of 39 in postseason history to hit a home run.
The Giants reclaimed the lead in the bottom of the fourth inning, as Conor Gillaspie continued his hot hitting, as he singled, went to third on a Joe Panik single. Gregor Blanco then walked to load the bases which brought up Moore, who singled in two runs.
Just one-half inning later, the Cubs cut the lead down to one, as Ross hit a sacrifice fly to score Baez. The second baseman was able to reach on Crawford’s’ first error of the night, and he went to third on the error.
After a Posey ground out to leadoff the bottom of the fifth inning, Hunter Pence singled, and then when it looked Crawford hit a two-run home run, the review was upheld and Crawford ended up on second with a long double off the right-center field wall.
Gillaspie for the third time in as many at-bats to score Pence, as Crawford was held up at third base. Panik then drove in Crawford with a sacrifice fly for what turned out to be the Giants final run of the 2016 season.
Moore went eight innings, allowing just one run on just two hits, as he walked just two and struck out 10.
Gillaspie went four-for-four on the evening. Both Panik and Span also picked up two hits on the evening.
This was the first time since the 2003 NLDS against the Florida Marlins that the Giants have been eliminated from postseason play.
With the loss, the Giants saw their 10-game winning streak in close out games come to an end, coming up one short of Red Auerbach’s 11 that he attained with the Boston Celtics in the 1960s.
Since the 2003 NLDS, the Giants defeated the Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies, Texas Rangers, Cincinnati Reds, St. Louis Cardinals, Detroit Tigers, Pittsburgh Pirates, Washington Nationals, the Cardinals for a second time, Kansas City Royals and the New York Mets before losing to the Cubs.
