Advantage, Cubs.
Slightly.
That the National League Championship Series stands at 3-2 after five games is largely attributable to these six players. How well some of them perform when the series returns to Wrigley Field this week will help determine where the National League pennant flies.
Cubs
Kenny Lofton: His value was underscored by Sunday’s frustration. Lofton failed to reach base in Game 5, the first time he has been kept off base in the series. The Cubs were unable to mount any type of threat against Josh Beckett, who pitched a two-hit shutout in Florida’s 4-0 victory. Lofton was 9-for-18 with seven runs in the first four games of the series, scoring three first-inning runs that helped the Cubs to invaluable early leads. His contributions as a table-setter can’t be overstated.
Aramis Ramirez: The Cubs’ most productive September hitter has been able to sustain it through the postseason. His first-inning grand slam off the Marlins’ Dontrelle Willis was the pivotal blow as the Cubs took a 3-1 series lead in Game 4 on Saturday, and he added an RBI single and a solo homer to tie an NLCS single-game record with six RBIs. He also homered in the Cubs’ Game 2 victory. He has five hits and seven RBIs in the series and has played errorless ball at third base.
Matt Clement: Kerry Wood and Mark Prior are regarded as the “givens” in the Cubs’ rotation, but manager Dusty Baker has insisted all along that they need more than two quality pitchers to advance. Clement, who pitched the division-clinching win over Pittsburgh on Sept. 27, answered the bell Saturday, working 7 2/3 quality innings in the Game 4 victory that gave the Cubs a 3-1 lead in the series. Clement limited the Marlins to five hits in what Baker called “the game of his life.”
Marlins
Mike Lowell: All he has done is hit the game-winning home run in each of the Marlins’ two victories. In Game 1 he delivered as a pinch-hitter against Mark Guthrie in the 11th inning as Florida won 9-8. On Sunday his fifth-inning, two-run shot off Carlos Zambrano broke up a scoreless tie and started the Marlins to a 4-0 victory. The classy pro was a candidate for the Most Valuable Player Award before a late-season hand injury sidelined him for a month, but he didn’t complain about not starting the first three games of the series.
Josh Beckett: The Marlins were in desperate need of a well-pitched game after being strafed for 33 runs, 10 home runs and a .299 batting average in the first four games of the series, falling behind 3-1. To say Beckett delivered is an understatement. He pitched a two-hitter, struck out 11 and needed only 115 pitches to subdue the Cubs in a game the Marlins had to have. The first three hitters in the Cubs’ lineup went 0-for-12 with three strikeouts. They did not get a runner to second base.
Ivan Rodriguez: He has seven hits and eight RBIs in the series, every one of them timely. He got the Marlins started in their 9-8 victory in Game 1 by hitting a three-run homer off Zambrano when the Cubs led 4-0. Later he singled in two runs to break a 6-6 tie. Rodriguez singled home the go-ahead run off Kerry Wood in Game 3 on Friday, though the Cubs rallied to win. He also homered off Dave Veres on Sunday.
