Rozner: Lester pitches Cubs to the brink

Since last reaching the World Series 71 years ago, only twice have the Cubs come within a game of reaching the World Series.

After Thursday night, you can make it three.

The Cubs had three chances to get it done in 1984 and three more in 2003, and both times the dream ended with three consecutive defeats.

Now, thanks to Jon Lester and Addison Russell, they've got a pair of games to get it done - and one of them involves Clayton Kershaw.

So after giving away home-field advantage in a Game 2 loss to Kershaw at Wrigley Field Sunday, the Cubs did just what they needed to do, which was take two of three in Los Angeles and give themselves two opportunities in Chicago to advance to the Fall Classic.

But it was far from easy.

After getting nothing done offensively in Games 2 and 3, the Cubs busted out in Game 4 and left it up to Lester in Game 5, an appropriate spot for the $155 million man brought in to serve as the veteran ace who's been in these tough postseason spots so many times before.

And rather than start Kershaw in Game 5, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts gambled that he could get enough out of starter Kenta Maeda to get to his bullpen before the Cubs put a big number on the board, and it looked like the visitors would get that big number early.

But it was only 1-0 Cubs when Roberts yanked Maeda in the top of the fourth, and when the Dodgers tied it at 1-1 in the bottom of the inning, Roberts' gamble looked like it might pay off, mostly because the Cubs left runners in scoring position in the first, fourth and fifth.

Still, the problem with relying on a bullpen day after day in the postseason is all you need is one guy to be out of sync and it can cost you a game.

Or maybe more.

That happened to the Dodgers when Javy Baez led off the sixth with a basehit against Joe Blanton and stole second. With one out, Russell blasted his second homer in as many days and the Cubs had a 3-1 lead with Lester at only 79 pitches through 5 innings.

Would Roberts have been better off with Kershaw? Well, at that point Blanton had given up 3 homers and 2 doubles in his last 8 hitters.

Meanwhile, Lester cruised through the sixth and in the seventh he worked past a two-out basehit and finished 7 strong innings at 107 pitches, having allowed just a run on 5 hits with a walk and 6 strikeouts.

He gave the Cubs exactly what they needed in Game 5.

It's true that the Cubs were awful with runners in scoring position Thursday night, but in the top of the eighth with two on and one out, Dexter Fowler and Kris Bryant both delivered infield hits that made it 5-1 Cubs, and though it might not have been very loud, those extra runs were thunder in the ears of the Dodgers.

Baez then cleared the bases with a double and the Cubs had an 8-1 lead.

So after zero runs for two games, the Cubs came up with some big numbers in the last two and they have pushed the Dodgers to another elimination game.

Down 2-1 in the NLDS against Washington, Los Angeles won two straight to survive the Nats, Kershaw starting the first one and saving the second two days later.

This time, he'll have to win Game 6 and likely be unavailable for Game 7, though you never know.

In any case, the Cubs displayed some serious guts on the road and now they're just one game away from getting to the big dance, a goal they have talked about since being eliminated by the Mets.

After what they did in L.A., it might be a mistake to doubt them now.

brozner@dailyherald.com

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