THE CHICAGO CUBS belted six home runs — a new Major League Baseball playoff record – in an 8-6 win that put the St Louis Cardinals on the brink of elimination.
The Cubs, trying to end a 107-year World Series title drought, had homers from Kyle Schwarber, Starlin Castro, Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, Jorge Soler and Dexter Fowler.
They took a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five National League Division Series and can advance with a win at home later this evening.
“It’s difficult to finish off good teams,” cautioned Cubs manager Joe Maddon. “We’ve been behind a lot of times, we’ve battled back.
“We totally expect that out of the Cardinals… You don’t pack up the bats until the last out ever.”
The winners of the series will face either the New York Mets or Los Angeles Dodgers for a World Series berth.
The Mets moved within one win of reaching the League Championship Series with a 13-7 victory over the Dodgers in New York.
Right fielder Curtis Granderson tied a Mets post-season record with five runs-batted-in as New York rallied from an early deficit.
