Cubs unstoppable if Bryant, Rizzo heat up

CHICAGO — Kris Bryant is a front-runner to win the National League Most Valuable Player Award. He delivered 39 home runs this season, and he was intentionally walked only five times.

That’s fewer free passes than were given to teammates Addison Russell, Ben Zobrist and David Ross, and table-setters like Adeiny Hechavarria, Odubel Herrera and Jordy Mercer. Dansby Swanson, who didn’t debut until mid-August, wound up tying Bryant in one category — intentional walks.

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Swanson, of course, didn’t have Anthony Rizzo hitting behind him. Nor did Russell, Zobrist, Ross, Hechavarria, Herrera or Mercer. Rare is the time when an opposing manager concludes it’s a good idea to pitch around Bryant to get to Rizzo, an All-Star in each of the past three seasons.

Game Date Time Matchup TV Gm 1 Oct. 7 9 p.m WC @ CHC FS1 Gm 2 Oct. 8 8 p.m. WC @ CHC MLBN Gm 3 Oct. 10 TBD CHC @ WC FS1 / MLBN *Gm 4 Oct. 11 TBD CHC @ WC FS1 *Gm 5 Oct. 13 TBD WC @ CHC FS1 *- If necessary | All times listed ETShop for postseason gear: Cubs • Complete Postseason coverage

At one point this season, Rizzo started to tell Bryant that he was “your Prince Fielder.” That’s a reference to how well Fielder protected Miguel Cabrera when they played together in 2012 and ’13.

Miggy won American League MVP Awards both seasons when he and and Fielder were lethal combinations, so you can see where Rizzo was going with the comparison. But the Cubs should hope it applies only in the regular season, not October.

Fielder and Cabrera weren’t able to deliver a championship to the Tigers, who lost to the Giants in the 2012 World Series and the Red Sox in the AL Championship Series the following year. They could never get hot at the same time, not against the quality pitching hitters face in the postseason.

Like Cabrera and Fielder, Rizzo and Bryant are the two Cubs who will have the most weight on their shoulders this October. Their team is …

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