Rozner: Cubs finally remember they're the Cubs

The Cubs just needed something good to happen.

Anything.

It had been almost four full days since something positive occurred for the Cubs.

And when they couldn't get it done on offense early Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium, the good things came on defense.

In the first inning, Willson Contreras picked off Justin Turner at second.

In the second, Jason Heyward threw out the impossibly-slow Adrian Gonzalez at the plate, mostly because of a great tag by Contreras on a very close play.

The replay was apparently inconclusive for observers in New York, a big break for the Cubs.

But those defensive gems were crucial, keeping the Dodgers off the board and giving the Cubs a chance to keep their heads above water for a few more minutes.

In the top of the fourth, Ben Zobrist led with a bunt single — the Cubs' first hit — before Javy Baez, on an 0-2 pitch, blooped a single to left. With runners on first and second, Contreras singled to left, and Andrew Toles had the ball in his glove as Zobrist reached third with seemingly no chance to score.

At that point, third base coach Gary Jones must have been thinking that with Heyward and Addison Russell due up, he might as well take a chance and hope for a bad throw.

He got it. It was terrible, wide of the plate and wild, allowing Zobrist to score and the runners to move up.

Heyward then grounded out to make it 2-0, and with one out and Contreras on third, Russell reached out on a 2-0 fastball and blasted a 2-run shot to right-center, and the Cubs had finally busted out with a 4-0 lead.

A bunt, a bloop, a break and a blast.

Just like that, the Cubs were back in business and remembering that they're pretty good at this baseball thing.

Meanwhile, the Cubs got John Lackey for this very reason, to pitch in a huge game and Game 4 of the NLCS was the biggest game of the year so far, but he lasted only into the fifth inning.

At age 37 and starting for the 22nd time in the postseason, Lackey was at least better than 20-year-old Julio Urias, who was the youngest pitcher ever to start a postseason game.

After Lackey pitched past a catcher's interference call in the bottom of the fourth, shutting down the Dodgers after a big Cubs inning, Anthony Rizzo hit his second foul home run of the series and then finally got off the schneid when he blasted a solo shot to right-center in the fifth.

But with a 5-0 lead, Lackey walked the first two batters at the bottom of the Dodgers' order in the bottom of the fifth and Joe Maddon had no choice but to go to the bullpen.

With the bases loaded and one out, Mike Montgomery tipped a sure double-play ball into the outfield for a 2-run single, and the Dodgers were back in the game at 5-2 after 5 innings.

But Maddon had himself a night, too.

Montgomery pitched well in the fifth so Maddon left him in to hit for himself in the sixth and a Montgomery slash the other way led to a big 5-run inning as the whole gang got in on the action, Rizzo leading the way with 3 hits and 3 RBI.

Maddon also stuck with Russell when so many were calling for the young shortstop's head, and Russell delivered for his manager in a very big way.

So after days of misery for the visitors, the Dodgers kicked the ball all over the field and the Cubs are back to being the Cubs, bashing it all over the ballpark.

And for a night the pleasure was exceeding the pressure once again.

brozner@dailyherald.com

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