Chicago Cubs

Cubs' Season Ends in Blowout Loss to Dodgers

The Chicago Cubs' quest to become baseball's first repeat champion in nearly two decades is over, as they were eliminated from the postseason by the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday night.

That opportunity was derailed early in the series, and thanks to a monster game from Enrique Hernandez and the Dodgers, those dreams were fully put to rest on Thursday night.

Hernandez cracked a grand slam in the third inning off of Hector Rondon to put the game out of reach, and he ended up joining an exclusive club as he hit three home runs in the victory.

Jose Quintana gave up six runs in the Cubs’ final game of the year. Kris Bryant did hit a solo home run for the Cubs, but it was far from enough as their reign as defending champions came to a swift end.

For the first time in the series, the Cubs weren’t the first ones on the board, as the Dodgers’ bats woke up early against Jose Quintana. Chris Taylor walked and later scored as Cody Bellinger smacked a double into the right field corner. Quintana got Yasiel Puig to pop out and Logan Forsythe to ground out weakly to the mound, but the damage was done as the Dodgers seized an early 1-0 lead.

That lead was extended on the very first pitch of the second inning, as Enrique Hernandez squared up a Quintana fastball and deposited the ball into the basket in center field to move Los Angeles ahead by a 2-0 margin.

The Dodgers ended up blowing the game open early on, scoring five runs in the third inning. Justin Turner knocked in a run after he singled to center field to score Taylor, and then Hernandez launched his second home run of the game, this one a grand slam that rattled into the basket as he gave the Dodgers a staggering 7-0 lead.

In the fourth inning, the Dodgers struck yet again, this time taking John Lackey on. With two outs, Logan Forsythe roped a double off the ivy in left field, scoring Turner and Puig to make it a 9-0 game.

The Cubs finally got on the board in the bottom of the frame, as Bryant smacked his first home run of the postseason over the left field wall to trim the Los Angeles lead to 9-1.

Hernandez wasn’t done torturing the Cubs, as he cracked his third home run of the game in the top of the ninth inning to make it an 11-1 game.

The Dodgers will head back to Los Angeles, where they will host Game 1 of the World Series on Tuesday night against either the New York Yankees or Houston Astros. 

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