Javier Báez broke the tie with a home run in the bottom of the eighth inning against Johnny Cueto, and the Chicago Cubs defeated the San Francisco Giants 1-0 in a tense first game of their National League division series.
Cueto and Jon Lester engaged in a thrilling pitching duel in which the bat of the Puerto Rican second baseman made the difference.
The game was tied with no runs when Báez hit a massive shot to left field and fellow Puerto Rican Ángel Pagán hurried to the wall. With the 42,148 fans and every player anxiously watching the ball's trajectory, Pagán couldn't do anything else. The ball ended up in the basket placed on top of the Wrigley Field walls.
The Giants threatened in the ninth when Buster Posey hit a double with two outs against Aroldis Chapman, but the Cuban closer managed to get Hunter Pence out with a grounder to second base.
Chicago was able to celebrate the victory in their first important game in several weeks.
The Cubs secured the Central division title on September 15 and led the majors with 103 wins, but their goal is focused on winning their first World Series crown since 1908.