Washington (AFP) – Ian Happ hit a homer and drove in three runs Wednesday as the Chicago Cubs secured their first Major League Baseball post-season berth since 2020 with an 8-4 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Happ and Moises Ballesteros hit back-to-back home runs as the Cubs put up four runs in the first inning and added another three in the seventh — when Happ and Justin Turner hit run-scoring singles.
“It’s special,” said Happ, the longest-tenured Cub who also caught the last out to end the game. “It’s going to be great to be back in the post-season. The fanbase, the organization, the group of guys here…through some tough years, through some rally close calls in the last couple of years, I know all the work they put in.”
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The Cubs notched their fourth win in a row and their seventh in eight games to lead the National League wild card standings with an 88-64 record. Manager Craig Counsell was delighted to see his players uncork the champagne in the clubhouse, even if plenty of work remains to achieve the ultimate goal of a World Series title. “You don’t get to do this in regular jobs, where you get to celebrate and throw champagne on each other,” Counsell said. “So you take advantage of it, have fun with it, enjoy each other and celebrate each other.”
Second baseman Nico Hoerner said it was especially sweet to celebrate after the covid pandemic made for a muted experience in 2020. “We got to go to the playoffs in 2020, but doing it near the end of a true 162 (game schedule) is totally different,” Hoerner said. “Baseball is such a game of persistence and camaraderie. Getting to celebrate like this is a really special thing. It’s obviously not our ultimate goal, but it’s still a huge milestone along the way.”
The Cubs are three-time World Series winners. Their most recent title came in 2016, ending a 107-year run of futility since they won back-to-back championships in 1907 and 1908.
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