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  • Chicago Cub fans gather outside Wrigley Field to celebrate the...

    Nuccio DiNuzzo / Chicago Tribune

    Chicago Cub fans gather outside Wrigley Field to celebrate the Cubs clinching Game 4 of the NLDS.

  • Fans celebrating after the last out near Wrigley Field after...

    Nuccio DiNuzzo / Chicago Tribune

    Fans celebrating after the last out near Wrigley Field after the Chicago Cubs clinched the NLDS.

  • Fans celebrating outside Wrigley Field after the Chicago Cubs clinched...

    Nuccio DiNuzzo / Chicago Tribune

    Fans celebrating outside Wrigley Field after the Chicago Cubs clinched the NLDS.

  • Fans inside Sluggers celebrate the final two outs of the...

    Nuccio DiNuzzo / Chicago Tribune

    Fans inside Sluggers celebrate the final two outs of the Chicago Cubs clinching Game 4 of the NLDS.

  • Chicago Cub fans gather outside Wrigley Field to celebrate the...

    Nuccio DiNuzzo / Chicago Tribune

    Chicago Cub fans gather outside Wrigley Field to celebrate the Cubs clinching the NLDS.

  • Cindy Mariscal, watches the ninth inning of game of of...

    Nuccio DiNuzzo / Chicago Tribune

    Cindy Mariscal, watches the ninth inning of game of of the NLDS.

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PUBLISHED: | UPDATED:

You can’t quit on these Cubs. You just can’t.

Oh, no one would blame you if you were girding yourselves for Game 5 against San Francisco on Thursday.

Yet after mustering only two hits in the first eight innings, the Cubs clubbed four in the ninth to erase a three-run deficit and win 6-5, reaching the NL Championship Series for the second straight year.

Consider: This is the first time the Cubs have won postseason series in consecutive years since 1907-08. Not to overstate their position, but we know what happened in those seasons.

What a ride it’s been, and now fans have until Saturday to take it all in and wait for the Dodgers or the Nationals.

3 UP

Holy @#$%, Javy!

As usual, we’re struggling to come up with the right words to describe second baseman Javier Baez’s impact on the team. We’ll start with his latest web gem. In the bottom of the third, he dived up the middle to suck up a Denard Span ground ball. Next, he fired an acrobatic, twisting throw to first, almost getting the speedy Span at first. Just incredible.

And Span wasn’t on base for long. When he tried to steal second, Ross gunned a one-hop throw to Baez. In the blink of an eye, Baez caught it and applied the tag to Span’s torso to get the out.

To top it off, he drove in the winning run with a clutch single in the ninth.

Baez even makes catching his fumbled gum look athletic:

Ross is still boss

Cubs catcher David Ross’s transformation into unlikely celebrity continues to evolve. This time, it’s because he became the oldest Cub to hit a postseason homer, at age 39. The drive tied the game at 1 in the third inning. He also drove in the Cubs’ second run, with a sacrifice fly in the fifth. Is he absolutely sure he wants to retire?

Not this time

While the Giants used five pitchers to try and shut down the Cubs in the ninth—to no avail, obviously—the Cubs turned to closer Aroldis Chapman. Although he stumbled on Monday night, the Giants couldn’t touch him Tuesday. Short memory, indeed.

3 DOWN

So that’s what it feels like

Giving the Cubs a taste of their own #PitchersWhoRake medicine, Matt Moore singled in the Giants’ second run Tuesday. On an 0-2 pitch, no less. It was only the second RBI for Moore. Not in that game. Not this season. In his entire career.

Patience, fellas

One of the Cubs’ biggest flaws last season was their propensity to strike out. They seemed to have it under control against the Giants this year after whiffing 85 times in nine playoff games in 2015. But on Tuesday they fanned 10 times against Moore. Unfortunately for the Giants, they handed the ball to their bullpen in the ninth.

Stop saying that

Viewers have gotten a steady dose of Fox Sports 1 analyst John Smoltz in this series, and to our ears he’s done a fine job. Except he keeps saying “heighth” instead of “height.” Although his version technically is a word that can be found in the dictionary, there’s no need to inject life into bad habits. Clean it up, John.

@redeyesportschi | chsosa@redeyechicago.com