Anthony Rizzo guaranteed the National League Division Series wouldn't be going back to St. Louis for a Game 5.
He was right.
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The Cubs powered their way to another victory over the Cardinals, hitting three more home runs en route to a NLDS-clinching 6-4 win in front of 42,411 fans at Wrigley Field in Game 4 Tuesday.
The Cardinals tied things up in the top of the sixth, but Rizzo deposited a Kevin Siegrist pitch into the right-field bleachers for the second straight day to give the Cubs the lead again and they did not look back.
"It's unbelievable how resilient this team is. They're just young and dumb, I guess," said reliever Trevor Cahill, who picked up the win in relief Tuesday.
Kyle Schwarber added insurance with his third homer of the postseason, clearing the video board in right field to lead off the seventh inning.
San Francisco Giants
"I was just looking for a good pitch to hit and I got it and you run around the bases and the place is going nuts," Schwarber said. "That's when it hits you, that this is what it's all about. This is what you live to play baseball for is playing in front of your home crowd in the playoffs.
"Then coming into the dugout, our team is awesome. I can say it over and over again: The personalities that we have in the clubhouse are unbelievable and it makes it so much fun to come to the ballpark every day."
Hammel allowed the first two batters of the game to score on a Stephen Piscotty homer and lasted just three innings.
The Cubs bullpen stepped up big again, keeping the Cardinals at bay for six innings.
The Cubs clinched their first postseason series at Wrigley Field ever and will advance to the NLCS for the first time since 2003. They await the winner of the Mets and Dodgers.
"We just beat a really good team," Rizzo said. "They know how to win. They've dealt with so many injuries and they still were the best team in baseball. How they did that, no one has any idea. I think some of their guys don't even know how they did it, but that's a credit to their organization and how good they are.
"But we're going to celebrate this. We deserve to celebrate this. It's been a long time coming for the city, and hopefully it's just a sign of things to come."