Rockies outlast Cubs 2-1 in 13 innings to advance into the NLDS

Kyle Freeland narrowly outdueled Jon Lester in a pitcher’s duel, but it was a battle of bullpens that ultimately decided the fate of the Rockies and Cubs on Tuesday night (and early Wednesday morning here). Freeland tossed 6 2/3 shutout innings, yielding four hits and a walk while striking out six. He got into a couple of dicey situations but managed his way out of trouble each time. Jon Lester was a bit shaky to start the game but quickly settled down, giving up just the one first-inning run over six innings on four hits and a walk with nine punch-outs.

The Rockies’ first run came in the first inning after Charlie Blackmon walked, DJ LeMahieu hit a ground-rule double into the ivy in left-center, and Nolan Arenado lifted a sacrifice fly to right-center.

The Cubs didn’t get on the board until the bottom of the eighth, when Anthony Rizzo hit a two-out single. Terrance Gore pinch-ran for him and promptly stole second base, then came around to score on a Javier Báez double to left field against Adam Ottavino.

Both teams remained knotted at one run apiece until the 13th inning. For the Cubs, Jesse Chavez, Randy Rosario, Steve Cishek, Pedro Strop, Cole Hamels, and Justin Wilson combined for six scoreless innings of relief. On the Rockies’ side, after Adam Ottavino yielded his run in the eighth, Wade Davis, Seung Hwan Oh, Chris Rusin, and Scott Oberg combined for 3 1/3 scoreless frames to bring the game into the 13th.

The Rockies didn’t seem likely to build a rally after two quick outs to begin the top of the 13th frame. But Trevor Story was able to sneak a single between Kris Bryant and Báez into left field. Gerardo Parra moved Story all the way to third on a single to right field. Tony Wolters then played the role of hero, grounding a single up the middle to plate Story and break the 1-1 tie.

Oberg remained in the game for the bottom of the 13th. Drama immediately inserted itself as Oberg and Wolters got crossed up with what ended up being a fastball for ball three against Gore. The pitch ended up hitting home plate umpire Chris Guccione and appeared to nick Gore’s uniform. Gore was initially awarded first base, but replay review showed he was not hit and he came back to finish the at-bat. Oberg threw a slider low and away, and Gore swung for some ridiculous reason, striking out. Oberg then struck out Báez and Albert Almora, Jr. to defeat the Cubs 2-1 and advance to the NLDS.

Tuesday’s game set a record for the longest elimination game in baseball history. The Cubs fail to make it to the NLDS — actually the NLCS, if we’re being super-specific — for the first time since 2014. The Rockies are back in the NLDS for the first time since 2009. They will open Game 1 against the Brewers on Thursday at 5:07 PM ET. That game will be broadcast on FS1. The Brewers have to be happy the Rockies had to exhaust themselves just to get past the Cubs and they now have to travel once again.

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Without Terrance Gore, the Cubs might not have been able to make it through regulation tied. Without Terrance Gore, the Cubs might have been able to make it into the 14th inning.

Gore, who is only on the Cubs’ postseason roster for his speed, played an integral part in the Cubs’ 2-1, 13-inning loss to the Rockies in the NL Wild Card game on Tuesday night. With the Cubs trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the eighth, Gore pinch-ran for Anthony Rizzo, who singled with two outs. Gore promptly stole second base, then came around to score easily on an RBI double to left-center field by Javier Báez. The Cubs might not have been able to tie the game if Rizzo had not been replaced by Gore.

In the bottom of the 13th, after the Rockies hit a trio of singles to break the 1-1 tie to take a 2-1 lead, Gore led off the inning. Gore has been in the majors for parts of five seasons, mostly as a September call-up with the Royals and Cubs. He has taken a grand total of 19 plate appearances despite appearing in 63 games. He has hit .063/.211/.063 but has stolen 27 bases in 31 attempts. Gore’s postseason numbers are even more absurd: he has appeared in eight games but taken no official plate appearances. He swiped four bags in five attempts and scored two runs.

If you’re Gore facing Scott Oberg to lead off the bottom of the 13th inning, you leave the bat on your shoulders the entire time, right? Go up with a wiffle ball bat. That’s mostly what Gore did. He worked the count to 2-2, then appeared to be nicked on his left shoulder by a 96 MPH fastball that ran a bit too far inside. The pitch was a cross-up between Oberg and catcher Tony Wolters and ended up nailing home plate umpire Chris Guccione. Gore was awarded first base, but had to come back after replay review revealed that he was not, in fact, hit by Oberg’s fastball. With a 3-2 count, the bat should never leave Gore’s shoulders. Gore swung and missed at a slider that dove low and outside of the strike zone. Oberg proceeded to strike out Báez and Albert Almora, Jr. to end the game, sending the Rockies to the NLDS.

Oberg has been excellent this year, particularly when it comes to being stingy about walks. After walking 10.4 percent of batters he faced in his first three seasons in the big leagues between 2015-17, he walked only 5.3 percent of batters faced this season. When facing a full count, Oberg threw ball four in six of 32 opportunities, or 18.75 percent. Not great odds, but better odds than Gore and his .063 batting average swinging the bat and hoping for a base hit or forcing a fielding error.

The Cubs had no position players left, so Gore was on his own. If Gore didn’t understand the situation, manager Joe Maddon and his coaching staff should have. They should have given Gore direct orders not to swing the bat.

Is it all Gore’s fault the Cubs are already eliminated from the playoffs? Of course not, as of the 50 Cubs batters who came to the plate, only 11 reached base. 10 were stranded as the club went 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position. Rockies pitching racked up 16 strikeouts. But if Gore were to get on by drawing a walk (or being hit by a pitch), it’s nearly a foregone conclusion that he moves himself into scoring position. He might even be able to get to third base on his own, opening up the possibility for a sacrifice fly, an RBI ground out, or a chance to score on a wild pitch/passed ball. It was a pivotal moment in the game, with a leverage index of 3.53 (an average LI is 1.00). And it’s one Cubs fans will be remembering until spring training begins next year.

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