LOS ANGELES — When the Cubs poached Joe Maddon from the Rays, they knew they were getting more than just a manager. He was a shrink and a spokesman rolled into one, shaped by his willingness to ignore the thousand-pound billy goat in the room.
It was his reassuring voice that a skittish fan base heard when the Cubs stopped hitting in these playoffs. It was his comforting words that his players quoted during one of their rare moments of adversity. Indeed, it was downright Maddon-esque when Cubs slugger Kris Bryant searched for meaning in the shards of Anthony Rizzo’s late broken-bat single the night before, taking it as a sign that the slumping stalwart was about to break out.
“That’s the kind of thing that you see sparks a team,” Bryant said, his prescience showing in Wednesday’s 10-2 pounding of the Dodgers, a victory that evened the National League Championship Series at two games apiece.
Rizzo blasted a long homer and knocked in a pair of runs with a single. He finished with three RBIs after starting the day with just one postseason hit. Addison Russell also blasted a cathartic two-run shot, rewarding Maddon’s faith for keeping him in the lineup despite an October average that dipped to .042.
The Dodgers committed four errors, with three of them leading directly to runs. Two of those runs came in the sixth, when the Cubs scored five times.
All of it had come because Maddon stood firm. Even with the Cubs hitting .185 in the postseason — and just .161 in the NLCS until Wednesday — he showed unyielding devotion by refusing to significantly alter his lineup.
With the game still scoreless in the second, Andrew Toles punched what looked to be a run-scoring single to right field. Jason Heyward uncorked a loopy throw. The slow-footed Adrian Gonzalez dove headfirst to the plate, appearing to sneak his left hand onto the plate just before catcher Willson Contreras had applied the tag on his chin.
Convinced that he had won the dash to the plate, Gonzalez immediately extended his arms, though he was called out. But umpires determined there was not enough evidence to overturn the call. In the dugout, Gonzalez threw up his hands and slammed them on the padded top rail. Soon, it was the Cubs who found themselves awash in emotion.
The Cubs’ consecutive scoreless innings streak had reached 21 when Ben Zobrist — hitting just .154 at the start of the day — bunted to begin the fourth inning against Julio Urias, the 20-year-old lefty that the Dodgers hoped might extend their run of pitching dominance.
Second baseman Javier Baez walked ahead of Contreras, who ended the scoreless streak with a single to left. The Cubs caught an added break when Toles’ throw sailed wide of the plate, allowing the runners to advance. It’s why Jason Heyward’s groundout to second was enough to score Baez and make it 2-0.
Then, Russell delivered the defining shot, a two-run homer to right-center. He had fallen to 1-for-25 in the postseason and had yet to record a hit in the NLCS. One night before, he was pulled for a pinch-hitter. Yet, Maddon refused to pull him from the lineup.
“We have to score more runs,” Maddon said before the game. “But it’s not his fault we’re not scoring runs. We have some really capable offensive players, and I’d hate to just lay it on one or two guys.”
As Russell rounded the bases after a homer that made it 4-0, he screamed and pumped his fist. He floated home, freed of the mental burden he had been carrying throughout October. Maddon had treated a managerial decision with the sensitivity of a therapist, and the touch of a communicator. He avoided laying the struggles of a team on one play.
Again, he reaped the rewards.
