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Wrigley rocks as Chicago Cubs KO St. Louis Cardinals

By Jack McCarthy, The Sports Xchange
Chicago Cubs fans celebrate outside of Wrigley Field after beating the St. Louis Cardinals in game 4 of the National League Division Series in Chicago on October 13, 2015. The Chicago Cubs won the series 3-1. Photo by Matt Marton/UPI
1 of 6 | Chicago Cubs fans celebrate outside of Wrigley Field after beating the St. Louis Cardinals in game 4 of the National League Division Series in Chicago on October 13, 2015. The Chicago Cubs won the series 3-1. Photo by Matt Marton/UPI | License Photo

CHICAGO -- Champagne-soaked celebrations are becoming regular occurrences for the Chicago Cubs.

Players, coaches and executives partied in the clubhouse and on the field after the Cubs beat the St. Louis Cardinals 6-4 to win the National League Division Series on Tuesday in front of a raucous Wrigley Field crowd. Chicago won the best-of-five series in four games.

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"We deserve to celebrate this," said first baseman Anthony Rizzo, whose go-ahead solo homer in the sixth inning gave Chicago the lead for good. "It's been a long time coming for this city, and hopefully it's just a sign of thing stop come."

The Cubs celebrated in late September after clinching a wild-card berth. They partied in Pittsburgh after beating the Pirates in last week's wild-card game.

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And they poured and sprayed bubbly, embraced each other, their families and friends under nighttime skies on the field of their iconic ballpark after taking the NLDS from the Cardinals. It marked the first time the Cubs even clinched a postseason series at Wrigley Field.

Next up is the National League Championship Series against the New York Mets or Los Angeles Dodgers, with the Cubs on the road for Game 1 on Saturday.

Four relievers shut down the Cardinals over the final three innings as the Cubs won their for the third game in a row.

It was a disappointing finale for St. Louis manager Mike Matheny, who guided the Cardinals to 100 victories and the major league's best regular-season record.

"This is a team that was as impressive to watch from day one as any team I've ever been around," he said. "Just a collection of skill and fight and character just all the way across the board."

With two outs in the sixth, Rizzo, who went 2-for-4, sent an 0-2 pitch from left-handed reliever Kevin Siegrist to the right field bleachers for a 5-4 Cubs lead.

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Cubs reliever Trevor Cahill (1-0) earned the win after working a one-run sixth.

Chicago relievers Fernando Rodney and Clayton Richard combined to blank St. Louis in the seventh. Pedro Strop struck out two in a 1-2-3 eighth, and fellow right-hander Hector Rondon allowed a baserunner but no runs in a scoreless ninth for the save.

"I was totally locked into that," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said of watching the final outs. "There's no time to hope and wish that you're going to win the game. You have to continue to work the process.

"The bullpen was fabulous. ... Up and down, we were all wonderful."

Siegrist (0-1) allowed two runs on two hits -- solo homers to Rizzo and left fielder Kyle Schwarber -- in 1 2/3 innings.

Matheny had no qualms about using him.

"That's the part of the lineup we wanted him in for," he said. "So we square up with our best guy for that situation against their best guys, and we see what happens. They had two lefties that made us pay."

The Cardinals claimed a 2-0 lead just four pitches into the game.

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Third baseman Matt Carpenter singled to right off Cubs right-hander Jason Hammel. First baseman Stephen Piscotty then launched first-pitch, two-run homer to center. The homer was Piscotty's third of the postseason.

The Cubs grabbed their first lead during a four-run second.

Hammel got one run back, bouncing an RBI a single up the middle with two outs to score second baseman Starlin Castro from second.

Shortstop Javier Baez, filling in for injured Addison Russell, launched a three-run homer to right center to bring home Schwarber and Hammel.

Hammel lasted three-plus innings, pulled for right-hander Justin Grimm after walking Jhonny Peralta to open the Cardinals fourth.

Grimm put two runners on in his one-inning appearance but struck out pinch hitter Tommy Pham to end a threat. Hammel allowed two runs on three hits, walked three and strike out two.

Pham's at-bat meant also marked the end for Cardinals starter John Lackey, who worked three innings and allowed four runs on four hits while walking one and striking out five.

He was replaced by Adam Wainwright, making his third postseason relief appearance. Wainwright threw two perfect innnings.

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Cahill, the fourth Cubs pitcher, let in two sixth-inning runs as the Cardinals forced a 4-4 tie.

Catcher Tony Cruz doubled down the right field line with two outs to bring home right fielder Jason Heyward. Pinch hitter Brandon Moss then singled to right to score Peralta.

However, Cubs right fielder Jorge Soler prevented a go-ahead run as he gunned down Cruz at the plate on a perfect throw to catcher Miguel Montero for the tag.

Rizzo's go-ahead homer in the sixth was his second of the postseason.

In the seventh, Schwarber added an insurance run with a leadoff solo homer off Siegrist that landed outside right field on Sheffield Avenue. His third postseason homer came on a 1-2 pitch and gave Chicago a 6-4 lead.

NOTES: Cardinals C Yadier Molina was a late scratch Tuesday due to a sore thumb. "There was considerable weakness in his thumb," manager Mike Matheny said. Backup C Tony Cruz went 1-for-4 with an RBI double. ... Cubs SS Addison Russell, who left Monday's game due to left hamstring tightness, did not play Tuesday. If the Cardinals had forced a Game 5 for Thursday, Russell would have been unlikely to start, manager Joe Maddon said. ... Chicago C Miguel Montero credits the presence of retired big-leaguer Manny Ramirez with aiding the Cubs young Latin players. "He's been amazing, not only about hitting but about different scenarios in the game," Montero said.

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