With the Chicago Cubs leading the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-0 in the bottom of the fifth inning at Wrigley Field in Chicago on Saturday night, the Cubs’ 27-year-old first baseman Anthony Rizzo belted a solo homer off Dodgers’ ace and three0time Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw.
Rizzo’s blow made the score 5-0 and may have been the shot that insured the Cubs their first trip to the World Series since 1945. Watch Rizzo’s blast in the video at the top of this page. The Cubs appeared headed to victory in Game Six of the National League Championship Series, which would give them a 4-2 series victory over the Dodgers.
Rizzo, who was acquired by the Cubs in a trade with the San Diego Padres following the 2011 season, put together a standout season for the Cubs in 2016, batting .292 with an OPS of .928, good enough for seventh in the National League.
He blasted 32 home runs for the Cubs in the regular season, but his blast on Saturday night in NLCS Game Six was probably his biggest hit of the year — or of his six-year career.
