Thanks to a home run from Travis Wood and a two-run single by Kyle Hendricks, the Chcago Cubs beat the San Francisco Giants 5-2 on Saturday night to grab a 2-0 lead in the National League Division Series.
Ben Zobrist and Kris Bryant also had RBI hits in the game as the Cubs move to within one victory of advancing to the National League Championship Series.
After Kyle Hendricks worked an uneventful first inning, the Cubs got on the board quickly in the bottom of the frame. Dexter Fowler worked a long at-bat before slashing a double all the way to the right field wall, but he was stuck on second as Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo were both retired.
Fortunately for the Cubs, their clean-up hitter did his job. Ben Zobrist lofted an RBI single into right field, scoring Fowler and giving the Cubs a 1-0 lead.
Things got even better for the Cubs' offense in the second inning as they added onto their lead. Jason Heyward hit a double into the right field corner, and then Javier Baez reached via walk. After a single from Willson Contreras, Hendricks helped his own cause and hit a two-RBI single to make it a 3-0 game.
Bryant then stepped up to the plate and delivered another base hit, with the ball bouncing out of Hunter Pence's glove and allowing Contreras to score to give Chicago a 4-0 advantage.
The Giants quickly got to work chipping into the Cubs' lead in the third inning, as they got on the board. Joe Panik led off the inning with an opposite-field double, and he was chased home by a Gregor Blanco double to the left field gap to make it a 4-1 game.
Chicago Baseball
In the top of the fourth inning, Hendricks got two quick outs, but he was forced to leave the game after being struck by a line drive off the bat of Angel Pagan. The hurler tried to stay in the game, but he was pulled after throwing a few warm-up pitches off the mound following the impact.
Hendricks' replacemment was Travis Wood, and although he did strike out a batter to end the inning, he made his more significant impact in the bottom of the frame. With one out and no one on, Wood cranked a home run into the left field bleachers, giving the Cubs a 5-2 lead in the game.
The Cubs' bullpen was able to do the rest, as CJ Edwards, Mike Montgomery, Hector Rondon, and Aroldis Chapman all combined to finish off the victory.
