Cubs vs Los Angeles Dodgers

The Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers, tied at 2 games apiece, met in Game 5 of the National League Championship Series at Dodger Stadium on Thursday, October 20, 2016.

The Chicago Cubs closed in on their first World Series trip since 1945 by beating the Los Angeles Dodgers 8-4 on Thursday in Game 5 of their National League playoff.

Jon Lester pitched seven sharp innings , Addison Russell hit a tiebreaking homer and the Cubs grabbed a 3-2 lead in the NL Championship Series.

The Cubs’ first opportunity to clinch comes Saturday night in Game 6, when Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw faces major league ERA leader Kyle Hendricks.

After busting out of his postseason slump Wednesday, Russell hit a two-run homer for the second straight game.

Baez had three of Chicago’s 13 hits, matching the team’s total in Game 4, when the Cubs snapped a 21-inning scoreless streak and won 10-2.

Baez stole second before Russell’s shot to left-center put the Cubs ahead on another unusually hot night at Dodger Stadium.

Fowler singled leading off the game and scored on Rizzo’s double to right two batters later.

A day after his bat was borrowed by Rizzo to hit a home run, Szczur revealed during an in-game TV interview that Russell wore a pair of his underwear leggings Wednesday after leaving his own at home.

Los Angeles was limited to six hits and made four errors in a game that dragged on for 3 hours, 58 minutes.