http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/16/sports/baseball/chicago-cubs-los-angeles-dodgers-miguel-montero.html 2016-10-16 07:09:52 Dodgers’ Late-Inning Gamble Backfires in Cubs’ Timely Grand Slam Walks forced Cubs closer Aroldis Chapman out of the game in favor of pinch-hitter Miguel Montero, but also loaded the bases. And with one powerful swing, Montero brought his Cubs home. === CHICAGO — The move was bold and brazen, and for a few moments, it seemed as if it might work. With Game 1 of the National League Championship Series on the line Saturday night, The score was tied, and Blanton had been stellar for the Dodgers all year. And the walks forced Cubs closer Aroldis Chapman out of the game in favor of pinch-hitter Miguel Montero, who had not hit Blanton well in his career. But the decision also loaded the bases with two outs and pushed the Dodgers dangerously close to the edge. With one powerful swing, Montero pushed them over. Montero blasted a hanging two-strike slider from Blanton over the right-field fence for only the third pinch-hit grand slam in postseason history, powering the Cubs to an 8-4 victory. Montero’s homer capped a wild final two innings. The Cubs had gambled themselves, pulling starter Jon Lester after only 77 pitches and six solid innings. That decision by Cubs Manager Joe Maddon loomed large in the eighth, when the Cubs’ two-run lead withered away, capped by Adrian Gonzalez’s two-run single on a 102-mile-per-hour fastball from Chapman. But those moments led only to another thrilling finish, and the Cubs, hoping to break their 108-year World Series drought, emerged victorious over the pesky Dodgers. The Dodgers were again plagued by another short start by a pitcher. Clayton Kershaw, who will start Game 2, has been the only Dodgers starter to go at least five innings this postseason, doing so twice. On Saturday, Dodgers starter Kenta Maeda lasted only four innings. He walked three batters, including Lester twice. But the Cubs hit him hard, too. The Cubs’ first run of the game came in the first inning when Dexter Fowler singled and then Kris Bryant, a contender for the N.L. Most Valuable Player Award, doubled to left field past Howie Kendrick. The lead expanded to 3-0 an inning later thanks to the Cubs’ talent and aggressiveness. Jason Heyward tripled into the right-field corner and scored easily when Javier Baez, who tried to bunt earlier in the at-bat, lifted a pop fly to shallow center field. The Dodgers had shifted their infield, and Baez recognized the possibility of taking an extra base. He ran hard out of the batter’s box and beat the throw into second base, pointed at the Cubs’ dugout and clapped his hands. A wild pitch by Maeda sneaked past catcher Carlos Ruiz, and Baez advanced to third. Up came Lester with one out, and a sacrifice bunt was a possibility. When Lester squared to bunt, Baez took off for the plate, but Lester pulled the bat back when the pitch was a ball. Ruiz caught the ball and, oddly, fired to third base. Third baseman Justin Turner jumped to save the ball from going into the outfield and quickly threw it back to Ruiz at home. Baez still beat the throw. Wrigley Field exploded with cheers. Fans chanted “Ja-vy, Ja-vy, Ja-vy!” With his audacious play, Baez became the first Cubs player to steal home in the postseason since 1907. The Dodgers managed to scored one run when pinch-hitter Andre Ethier hit an improbable home run against Lester. He lifted a ball to left field that, in any other stadium and in almost any other weather, would have been a routine fly ball. But Wrigley Field can be hitter-friendly, especially with the wind blowing out, and Ethier’s ball sailed over the left-field wall. Even though the Dodgers managed only four hits against Lester, they hit a handful of line drives right at Cubs defenders, and Fowler alone saved two hits. And Maddon did not want to take any chances. He removed his starter despite Lester having retired 12 of the last 13 batters he faced. The decision hovered over the final two innings of the game, especially when the Cubs worked into a jam in the eighth inning and Maddon brought in Chapman with the bases loaded with no outs. Andrew Toles started the rally with a pinch-hit single off Mike Montgomery. Chase Utley then drew a pinch-hit walk against Pedro Strop. Toles further fueled the rally when he raced to third base and beat the tag of Kris Bryant, who had snared Turner’s infield single. Forced to turn to his best reliever, Maddon brought Chapman in for a six-out save. Chapman fanned Corey Seager and Yasiel Puig, and the plan nearly worked. But Gonzalez, who knew that Chapman was going to pump fastballs, slapped one into center field to tie the game. He pumped his fists as he stood on first base. This set the stage for the bottom of the eighth. Ben Zobrist smacked a leadoff double off Blanton, and Addison Russell grounded out. Roberts then asked Blanton to intentionally walk Heyward, who has struggled this postseason, to face the hot-hitting Baez. Blanton got Baez to pop out on the first pitch of the at-bat. Then Roberts tempted fate again. Blanton intentionally walked Chris Coghlan, and this time, his gamble did not pay off.