Chicago Cubs have plenty of experience in torturous, extra-inning baseball

Chicago Cubs lose thrilling Game 3 against San Francisco Giants in 2016

Up two games to none in the NLDS, the Cubs were looking to sweep the San Francisco Giants in just three games. Throughout the course of the 13-inning, five-hour contest the Cubs had plenty of chances but fell short as the Giants won, 6-5.

The Cubs got off to a start that would have made you believe they were destined to win that game. With two runners on in the bottom of the second inning, Jake Arrieta drilled a three-run homer off ace lefty Madison Bumgarner. It was a huge moment for Arrieta and the Cubs, as those were the only runs they got off Bumgarner.

While the offense stalled over the next couple of innings, the Giants were in chip-away mode. They scored one run in both the bottom of the third and fifth inning to trim the Cubs’ lead to 3-2.

The Giants then struck for three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to take a 5-3 lead going into the ninth inning. Hector Rondon led the inning off by walking Buster Posey and then Travis Wood allowed a single to Brandon Belt.

Maddon elected to bring in Aroldis Chapman with runners on first and second and one out to attempt a six-out save. Chapman then surrendered a two-run, go-ahead triple to Conor Gillaspie on a ball that just got over the head of Almora in right field. Brandon Crawford came up next and delivered an RBI single up the middle to extend the Giants lead.

The Cubs looked dead in the water but they had the heart of their lineup coming up in the ninth inning. Dexter Fowler led off with a walk and Kris Bryant followed with a game-tying two-run homer.

Then, once more, Chicago seemingly ran out of gas as they struggled to get anything going on offense. In the 13th inning, Mike Montgomery was going out for his fifth inning of relief and didn’t have enough left in the tank. Crawford led off the frame with a double off Montgomery and Joe Panik followed it up immediately with a game-winning RBI single off the right-field wall.

This was a rollercoaster of a game that had a number of highs and lows for both sides. The Cubs probably should have closed the series out on this night but they didn’t capitalize enough at the plate. This set up Game 4 the next night, in which the Cubs rallied once more to clinch the series.