An eighth inning home run from Javier Baez gave the Chicago Cubs a 1-0 victory over the San Francisco Giants in Game 1 of the 2016 NLDS.
In a classic pitching duel between Johnny Cueto of the San Francisco Giants and Jon Lester of the Chicago Cubs, all it took was one swing of the bat to decide Game 1 of the 2016 NLDS.
Luckily for the Cubs, it was Javier Baez who supplied it.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, with one out and no one on base, Baez swung at a 3-2 pitch and knocked it clean into the stands. (Well, kind of, since it actually landed in the netting above the ivy in left field where no one could reach it, but you get the point.)
Before that homer that came on a fastball he simply lost over home plate, Cueto had given up only two hits.
The Cubs were able to hold onto their 1-0 lead in the game to take a 1-0 series lead over the Giants, who were coming in hot after their Wild Card victory with the momentum of it being an “even year.”
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The Cubs — who had dealt with their fair share of curses in the most famous championship drought in any professional sport — weren’t deterred, however. The Baez home run wound up being the decisive blow that has Chicago two wins away from advancing to the NLCS.
There’s still work to be done, but the homer had fans — including super-fan Billy Murray, who wore a classic “I ain’t afraid of no goat” shirt — jumping for joy.
Closer Aroldis Chapman was able to seal the deal for the Cubs despite some late scares, moving Chicago fans one tiny step closer to finally being able to declare that it is, in fact, their year.
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Game 2 of the NLDS between the Cubs and Giants is set for Saturday, Oct. 8, at 7 p.m. ET.