Ian Happ on Wednesday homered and drove in three runs, as the Chicago Cubs clinched their first post-season berth since 2020 with an 8-4 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates.
In the middle of a darkened visitors’ clubhouse at PNC Park, the Chicago Cubs embraced each other. Champagne flowed and flew for the first time since 2017, as everything was muted during the COVID-19 pandemic when they last qualified.
“When you’re in it, you think it’s going to happen every year,” pitcher Matthew Boyd said. “The fact and the reality is this is really hard to do.”
Photo: AP
The Cubs (88-64) seemed destined for the playoffs since going 18-9 in May. Still, it has not been straightforward. They lead the National League wild-card standings and are 4-1/2 games back of the first-place Milwaukee Brewers in the Central division, having surrendered the lead on July 28 after sitting alone at the top through July 19.
After Milwaukee took over, Chicago could have folded. Instead, they are surging with four straight wins and seven victories in eight games.
“It’s a grind of a season. You celebrate the first goal you accomplished,” manager Craig Counsell said. “We’ve made it to our first goal and that’s exciting.”
Photo: AFP
“You don’t get to do this in regular jobs — get to celebrate and throw champagne on each other. You just don’t get to do it, right?” he added.
Happ popped the cork — in the clubhouse and on the field. He drove in three runs against the Pirates, belting a two-run home run in the first inning.
The Pittsburgh native has played nine years with the Cubs. He was a rookie in 2017 when Chicago took the Central division one year after ending a 107-year drought without winning the World Series.
Photo: AFP
In California, Blake Snell struck out a season-high 12 batters as the Los Angeles Dodgers earned a 5-0 shutout victory over the visiting Philadelphia Phillies to avert a three-game series sweep.
Freddie Freeman and Shohei Ohtani hit home runs as the Dodgers maintained their two-game lead over the San Diego Padres in the National League West.
Manager Dave Roberts said they were considering using two-star Ohtani as a relief pitcher to shore up their struggling bullpen.
Photo: AP
The Japanese superstar has been superb on the mound as a starting pitcher this year after not pitching at all last year as he recovered from elbow ligament surgery. He has also continued to shine at the plate, hitting his 51st homer on Wednesday.
Ohtani said he had had “different conversations with different people” and the idea of pitching in relief had come up.
He also floated the idea of playing in the outfield, saying he was willing to contribute in any way he could.
“As a player, if I’m told to go somewhere, I want to be prepared to do so,” he said.
In Phoenix, Arizona, Taiwanese-American outfielder Corbin Carroll hit his 17th triple to extend his major league lead in the Arizona Diamondbacks’ 5-1 loss to the San Francisco Giants.
Carroll has 30 homers and needs one stolen base to become the first Diamondback in the 30-30 club.
Elsewhere on Wednesday, the New York Yankees beat the Minnesota Twins 10-5, the Houston Astros shot down the Texas Rangers 5-2, the Cleveland Guardians blanked the Detroit Tigers 4-0 and the Miami Marlins defeated the Colorado Rockies 8-4.
The Cincinnati Reds overpowered the St Louis Cardinals 6-2, the Boston Orioles downed the Chicago White Sox 3-1, the Atlanta Braves dominated the Washington Nationals 9-4, the Tampa Bay Rays edged the Toronto Blue Jays 2-1 and the Padres bested the New York Mets 7-4.
The Boston Red Sox survived the Athletics 5-4 in 10 innings, the Kansas City Royals sank the Seattle Mariners 7-5 and the Brewers took out the Los Angeles Angels 9-2.
Additional reporting by staff writer, AFP and Reuters
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