The Chicago Cubs literally powered their way to the NLCS, homering 10 times in the four game series against the St. Louis Cardinals. The record for most home runs in a divisional series is 10, put up by the Seattle Mariners in 1995, the New York Yankees in 1995, and the Houston Astros in 2004. And it wasn’t just one or two guys doing it for the Cubs. A total of seven different players homered during the series.
An astonishing 75% of the Cubs runs in the series were the result of home runs, a pace that is unsustainable, but impressive nonetheless. Even more impressive than the volume of home runs in the series, was the timing. With the game tied 4-4, Anthony Rizzo put the Cubs up for good after falling behind in the count 0-2. And just in case the 1 run lead wasn’t enough, Kyle Schwarber added some extra pop with a solo shot of his own.
The Cubs are getting quality pitching, allowing only 13 runs in 5 post-season games (including the Wildcard game), and the recent barrage of homers puts them as the early favorites to advance to the World Series, regardless of whether they end up facing the New York Mets or the Los Angeles Dodgers. And if being the hottest team in the league right now isn’t enough – History is on their side. The last three teams to win a post-season series against the Cardinals all advanced to the World Series.