Chicago Cubs: Looking at the team's heroes in the NLDS

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Oct 13, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Cubs fans hold up W flags after defeating the St. Louis Cardinals in game four of the NLDS at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports

It was an all-around team effort for the Chicago Cubs, who took down the best team in baseball Tuesday night to advance to the National League Championship Series.

Heading into the NLCS this weekend, Chicago has done some pretty remarkable things already this postseason.

A rookie drafted just 15-plus months ago, Kyle Schwarber, went 5-for-10, including a moon-shot home run that landed on top of the new right-field video board, in the NLDS. Six different Cubs players homered in the Game 3 win, setting a new postseason record in the process.

Jorge Soler, Anthony Rizzo and Javier Baez all got in on the power show at Wrigley, as well – lighting up Cardinals’ pitching with regularity.

On the other side of the ball, Chicago went 2-0 in games not started by their top starting pitchers Jake Arrieta and Jon Lester. In Game 4, when Jason Hammel lasted just 3+ innings, the Cubs’ bullpen wound up quieting the Cardinals’ bats – thanks, in part, to a clutch throw by Jorge Soler to cut down a runner at home.

As you can tell, it wasn’t a one-man show. But now that we’re all starting to come down off the high of Tuesday night’s win, let’s look back at some of the team’s Division Series highlights.

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October 13, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Cubs left fielder Kyle Schwarber (12) reacts after he hits a solo home run in the seventh inning against St. Louis Cardinals in game four of the NLDS at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports

Kyle Schwarber

The sheer dominance of the Cubs’ rookie was on full display when he clubbed a mammoth home run Tuesday night that wound up on top of the massive right-field video board, where it will remain for the rest of the postseason under a plexiglass case.

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Despite 42,000-plus fans being in the Friendly Confines for the Cubs’ Game 4 win, the team’s rookies, including Schwarber, seemed unfazed by the pressure. After falling behind 2-0 early on a first-inning Stephen Piscotty homer, the offense quickly got back to work – as they did all series-long.

In the Division Series, Schwarber posted an OPS near 1.700 – comprised of a .500/.583/1.100 slash-line. That’s not to mention his two home runs and three runs scored, nor the fact that he played in both the outfield and behind the dish in the series.

His clutch home run in the NL Wild Card Game was a major reason why the Cubs reached the next round of postseason play. But if you thought that was a flash-in-the-pan for the 22-year-old slugger, you thought wrong.

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Oct 13, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo (left) celebrates on the field after defeating the St. Louis Cardinals in game four of the NLDS at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports

Anthony Rizzo

The performance put forward by the Cubs’ first baseman in the Division Series wasn’t quite what we’ve come to expect from the franchise cornerstone – in one regard, that is.

In the four games, Rizzo struck out four times in 14 at-bats, walking just one time – something very uncharacteristic of the left-handed-swinging slugger, who belted 31 homers and drove in 101 runs during the regular season.

Then, late in Game Four, it was all forgotten.

For the second-straight game, Rizzo connected against St. Louis reliever Kevin Siegrist, this time on an 0-2 count, giving Chicago a 5-4 advantage right after the Cardinals rallied to tie things up at two apiece.

His defense was stellar, as usual, and as one of the team’s undisputed leaders, it only made sense that it was he who clubbed what proved to be the game-winning blast.

While we can all look back at the series now fondly, Rizzo will need to be more consistent in the NLCS if the Cubs have any shot at ending their World Series drought.

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Oct 13, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Cubs second baseman Javier Baez (9) hits a three run home run during the second inning in game four of the NLDS against the St. Louis Cardinals at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports

Javier Baez

The 2015 season has been one of resilience and battling for the young Cubs infielder, who failed to even make the big league roster out of camp this spring.

Throw in a broken finger and the devastating loss of his 21-year-old sister and it’s hard even fathom how Baez continued to stay focused on the task at-hand this season. He opened the year with Triple-A Iowa, where he worked to address the weaknesses that were glaringly exposed last year in Chicago.

Jorge Soler

What can you say except, “Wow?”

In the NLDS, Soler was everything you wanted out of a star player; he played well defensively, he was unstoppable at the plate and he didn’t fold to the pressures of postseason baseball.

He wound up notching four hits in seven at-bats, but he drew an impressive six walks while striking out just one time. That equates to a .571/.769/1.571 triple-slash, which doesn’t even take into account his game-saving defensive play in the Game Four win.

With the game suddenly tied 4-4, Soler came up throwing on an opposite-field single, one-hopping a perfect throw to Miguel Montero at home plate, nailing Tony Cruz for the final out of the inning – keeping the game tied and preventing the Cards from pulling ahead and gaining a full head of steam.

We broke down just how big of a jump this has been in a piece last night that you can check out here: but if you don’t want to delve into it, suffice to say: Jorge Soler has the makings of a superstar and if he breaks out like this and stays healthy next season, this already potent lineup becomes unrivaled in all of Major League Baseball.

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Chicago Cubs: Looking at the team’s heroes in the NLDS