Hes taken a lot of criticism here and there and some of its warranted but at the end of the day

CHICAGO -- Best in the majors during the regular season, the Chicago Cubs are one win from reaching the NL Championship Series for the second straight year.Travis Wood took over when starter Kyle Hendricks got hurt and became the first relief pitcher since 1924 to hit a postseason home run , helping the Cubs beat the San Francisco Giants 5-2 Saturday night for 2-0 NL Division Series lead.Madison Bumgarner, coming off a four-hit shutout of the New York Mets in the NL wild card game, tries to save the Giants season when the series resumes Monday in San Francisco.Cubs manager Joe Maddon remains wary of the Giants, World Series champions in 2010, 12 and `14.You watch how they react to different moments, Maddon said . Theyre never panicked. Theyre never concerned. ... I really believe our guys will come ready to play knowing that they are also. Thats just a given.The Cubs, who start reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Jake Arrieta, are now one win from a matchup with the Los Angeles Dodgers or Washington Nationals. Swept by the New York Mets in last years NLCS, Chicago led the big leagues with 103 wins during the regular season and is hoping for its first World Series title since 1908.Ben Zobrist hit a run-scoring single off former Cubs pitcher Jeff Samardzija in the first, and Hendricks added a two-run, bloop single in a three-run second.The Cubs were leading 4-2 in the fourth when Hendricks left the game after with a bruised right forearm after being hit by Angel Pagans line drive.Wood struck out Conor Gillaspie to strand Pagan, then sent a one-out offering from George Kontos halfway up the left-field bleachers in the bottom half. The only other reliever to homer in the postseason was the New York Giants Rosy Ryan in Game 3 of the 1924 World Series.Given a curtain call by a screaming crowd of 42,392, Wood joined Rick Sutcliffe (1984) and Kerry Wood (2003) as the only Cubs pitchers to go deep in the postseason. Travis Wood has nine regular-season homers in his big league career.Wood pitched a hitless fifth and was credited with the win. Four more relievers completed Chicagos second straight six-hitter, with Aroldis Chapman throwing 12 of 16 pitches at 100 mph and up for his second consecutive save.Hendricks, the major league ERA leader, gave up two runs and four hits in 3 2/3 innings.We picked him up tonight, having his injury and stuff and thats what we have done all year long, Wood said. We pull on each other and end up backing each other up.Samardzijas first career playoff start was a short one. The right-hander, who spent his first 61/2 seasons with the Cubs, was pinch hit for in the third after allowing four runs and six hits.Down 4-0, San Francisco scored two in the third when Gregor Blanco doubled in a run and scored on Brandon Belt `s sacrifice fly.Just cant put your team in that much of a hole early in the game, especially against a good staff like they have over there, Samardzija said. Like to have that one back, for sure, that ones on me.HENDRICKS UPDATEHendricks said his arm feels pretty good right now and he hopes to be ready in a few days after X-rays showed no structural damage.He said he felt pain after a few warmup pitches and exited after a discussion with Maddon.He told me if theres anything at all, he didnt want me in there, Hendricks said.SEENsActor and comedian Bill Murray was back cheering on the Cubs for the second night in a row. But no, he wasnt wearing an I Aint Afraid of No Goat shirt as he did on Friday.Former Cubs closer Lee Smith threw out the ceremonial first pitch , and Chicago native and former WWE star CM Punk delivered the Play Ball! call before the game.Actor Jeff Garlin sang Take Me Out To The Ball Game during the seventh-inning stretch.UP NEXTGiants: Bumgarner has pitched 23 consecutive postseason innings and is 8-3 with a 1.94 ERA in 13 postseason starts and 15 appearances.Cubs: Arrieta won 18 games but had a 4.60 ERA in five starts last month. He gave up seven runs in a loss to Pittsburgh on Sept. 28. Air Force 1 Blue Outlet Air Force 1 Off-White Outlet . Down by seven with 90 seconds left in regulation, thats where they looked comfortable. https://www.cheapairforce1outlet.com/ .com) - The Pittsburgh Penguins placed forward James Neal on injured reserve Tuesday. Air Force 1 2020 .C. -- Manny Malhotra had two goals and an assist, leading the Carolina Hurricanes to a 6-3 win over the Ottawa Senators on Saturday. Air Force 1 Retro Outlet . Halifax beat the Saint John Sea Dogs 7-5 on the strength of two goals apiece from Nikolaj Ehlers, Matt Murphy and Brent Andrews. Jonathan Drouin also scored and had three assists while Zachary Fucale made 17 saves for the Mooseheads (16-8-0), who led 6-1 after two periods.REGINA -- Kory Sheets may need to borrow Geroy Simons cape. After the Roughriders tailback put Saskatchewan ahead for good on a three-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter, he celebrated by striking his teammates familiar Superman pose in the end zone. Sheets finished the game with a career-high 133 yards on 26 carries as the Roughriders (2-0) became the only unbeaten team in the CFL with a 36-21 win over the Calgary Stampeders (1-1) at Mosaic Stadium. Simon, the Roughriders much-hyped off-season acquisition, missed his second straight game with an injured leg. "I was just doing that as a tribute to my man," said Sheets. "I told him, Hey, Im going to draw the box and hit the Superman pose if I score." Sheets stated in the lead-up to the game that he felt he was already the best running back in the game, despite having finished nearly 200 yards back of Calgarys Jon Cornish, the league leader with 1,457 in 2012. He let his play do the talking Friday, even after Cornish was held to 42 yards on eight carries. "Were going to see them two more times and possibly three more times in the playoffs, and its a long season so Im not going to say Im happy about doing better than him tonight because he could do better than me next time," said Sheets, who never went for more than 18 yards on a single rush. Sheets had plenty of help, most notably from slotback Weston Dressler who topped all Riders receivers with an effort that began on Saskatchewans opening drive when he caught three passes for 33 yards. Dressler caught a bullet over the middle from quarterback Darian Durant for a 28-yard touchdown in the second quarter and drew a 31-yard pass interference penalty on Calgary linebacker Jonathan Hefney in the fourth quarter that set up Sheets go-ahead score. "Weve got plenty of guys that can make plays so youve just got to be ready for when your opportunity comes," said Dressler, who finished with 10 catches for 108 yards. "Whether its two, three times a game or nine, 10 times a game youve got to be ready for it and youve got to come through when the ball comes your way." It was a tough game for Hefney who was burned earlier in the game with the Stampeders leading 14-11. Saskatchewan slotback Chris Getzlaf outran Hefney for a 32-yard reception in the second quarter and overwhelmed him again on the next play for another nine yards. That led to a 36-yard field goal from Chris Milo, his second of four in the game. Milo also connected fromm 15, 38 and 29 yards.dddddddddddd "When our offensive line is playing as good as they are, youre getting holes, Kory Sheets is running the ball, when all that is going well it makes it really hard to cover the pass game because the (line)backers have to be involved," said Getzlaf. "They have to respect the run game." The seven-year veteran added a 15-yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter that put the Riders up 35-21. Getzlaf finished with eight catches for 97 yards. "Hes a guy that I hope that has a very good season," said Roughriders head coach Corey Chamblin. "I think he deserves it. "Hes taken a lot of criticism here and there and some of its warranted but at the end of the day hes a guy that I want to see turn into an all-star superstar in this league because hes got the potential to do that." Stampeders quarterback Drew Tate was deadly accurate for most of the game, completing 19-of-25 passes for 231 yards before giving way to Kevin Glenn with five minutes to play. Tate tossed second-quarter touchdowns to Rob Cote and Joe West, and Marquay McDaniel ran in from seven yards out on the games opening drive, as Calgary built a 21-14 lead by halftime. But things came unravelled in the second half. The Stamps were forced to punt on four straight offensive possessions and took a trio of defensive penalties in the fourth quarter that either extended Saskatchewan drives or led directly to Roughriders touchdowns. The Hefney pass interference call was followed by a too-many-men penalty and an unnecessary roughness flag, both of which gave the Riders a fresh set of downs. "We added some veterans and theyre a little bit more mature," said Chamblin. "I think those guys finished and they never panicked when they were down. "They understand that its about 60 minutes in the CFL and they understand the ups and downs of it." Durant played the entire game for Saskatchewan, going 26-for-34 for 258 yards. Glenn went 4-for-7 for 41 yards in relief of Tate and threw an interception to Macho Harris on the final play of the game. Both teams will meet East Division rivals for the first time in Week 3, with the Roughriders in Toronto on Thursday to face the Argonauts and the Stampeders in Montreal on Friday to face the Alouettes. Before the game, the Roughriders honoured four alumni who passed away during the off-season: Jack Gotta, Bryan Illerbrun, Grey Cup-winning coach Eagle Keys and Len Legault. ' ' '