Will last year's playoff experience pay off for Cubs

Sometimes the choice is one of youth or experience.

Heading into tonight's Game 1 of the National League division series, the Chicago Cubs boast both youth and experience.

Players such as Kris Bryant, Addison Russell and Javier Baez are young, but they all took part in last year's playoff run to the National League championship series, in which the Cubs were swept by the Mets.

They say that kind of experience can prove beneficial this October.

"Huge," Bryant said Thursday as the Cubs had most of their scheduled workout washed out at rainy Wrigley Field. "I've been saying it all along. Just playing those games last year, the biggest game for us was the wild-card game. For Jake (pitcher Arrieta) to go out there and do what he did (beating the Pirates) and us to get that kind of experience, playing in a crowd where you can't even hear yourself think is important to us.

"It's certainly going to be pretty loud, so all that from last year is definitely going to ease the nerves a little bit."

Baez was thrust into regular duty last fall after No. 1 shortstop Addison Russell hurt his hamstring in Game 3 of the division series against the Cardinals. He also says that can help.

"Ooh, a lot," he said. "You've still got to play the game, so for me when I was there last year, it was really hard to slow the game down. But now, I've been doing it the whole season, the whole year. Hopefully, I keep doing it this postseason."

The Cubs found their offense shut down by the Mets in last year's NLCS. The Cubs improved in several ways at the plate this year, including making more contact.

"I just think we are more capable of grinding at-bats," said first baseman Anthony Rizzo. "I think, as a group, we do a good job of grinding to get into the bullpen. That's what we want to do."

It's finally here:

The Cubs have tried everything they could to stay active this week as they awaited Game 1 of the NLDS.

"You can't just bring the Washington Generals in and all of a sudden have a game for a couple of days," joked manager Joe Maddon.

Now that the hour is at hand, the Cubs say they're happy.

"I don't know the analogy to give, the cooped-up dog in the house and the owner gets home," said veteran catcher David Ross. "We've been running around the house for too long. We're ready to get out on the field and play some catch, hit and throw and get to be a part of everything we get to watch on TV. We sit up at night watching these wonderful games. We're excited."

Arrieta on Bumgarner:

Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta will go in Game 3 of the NLDS, Monday in San Francisco. His likely opponent will be Giants ace Madison Bumgarner, who went all the way Wednesday night to shut out the Mets in the wild-card game.

"Expected, really," Arrieta said. "You knew it was going to be a low-scoring game, and I figured it was going to come down to just one big swing of the bat, and that's exactly what happened.

"Bumgarner did what he did again, just like 2014 against the Pirates. Outings like that, you kind of expect from him and those sort of moments. These games are going to be close. We'll be ready for this challenge."