One curse quelled as Cubs return to World Series for first time since 1945

CHICAGO – The fans here leaned forward in their seats Saturday night, their hands pressed together as if in prayer. Standing seven deep in the bars of Wrigleyville, the crowds throbbed at every image of joy that flickered across the television screens.

In the firehouse across the street, fans mingled with firefighters with nowhere to go, as if this city had resolved to sit still until the final out. Generational torment had taught them the folly of expecting something good.

So, they waited for the Chicago Cubs to blow it, waited for Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw to steel his nerve and crush a dream, waited for the chill of curses and billy goats and Bartmans to render it all a nightmare.

They waited for something that did not happen.

The Cubs might be lovable, but they are losers no more, champions of the National League for the first time since 1945. After beating the Dodgers 5-0 in Game 6 of the National League Championship Series, the Cubs ended a 71-year pennant drought.

Chicago first baseman Anthony Rizzo caught the ball for the final out. Later, he revealed he still had the ball and said, "I'm sleeping with this thing tonight. Are you kidding me? We're going to the World Series."

They now aim at ending another drought, the most notorious in American sports. The Cubs face the Cleveland Indians in the World Series in hopes of their first championship since 1908. Game 1 is Tuesday in Cleveland. The Indians have baseball's second-longest championship wait, last winning it all in 1948.

Chicago righthander Kyle Hendricks surrendered only two hits in 7⅓ innings Saturday. Hendricks, who emerged from his fifth-starter role as arguably the Cubs' most dependable pitcher with 16 victories and a major league-low 2.13 ERA this season, gave up Andrew Toles' single on the game's first pitch, then coasted from there until Josh Reddick singled with one out in the eighth.

"It has been a story book year for him and the entire team," fellow pitcher Jake Arrieta said.

And against Kershaw, the Cubs looked every bit like the 103-win juggernaut they were this season. They outscored the Dodgers 23-6 over the final three games of the NLCS.

Kershaw was chased after five innings, throttled for five runs (four earned) on seven hits. Kris Bryant drove in Dexter Fowler only seven pitches into the first inning and Willson Contreras and Rizzo bashed homers, ensuring a tortured fan base could finally breathe.

The Cubs had been 0-for-6 in the NLCS when one victory away from the World Series. But on this night, that lingering pain would be washed away by champagne and tears.