Bullpen picks up Lackey, as Cubs even Series

LOS ANGELES — John Lackey may not have been happy about being pulled on Wednesday night, but the Cubs bullpen was more than ready to pitch in and even contribute at the plate.

Lackey started Game 4 of the National League Championship Series, and was lifted after walking the first two Dodgers he faced in the fifth, even though the Cubs had a 5-0 lead at that point. That was enough for manager Joe Maddon to make a switch and call on lefty Mike Montgomery.

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Game Date Time Matchup TV/Highlights Gm 1 Oct. 15   CHC 8, LAD 4 Gm 2 Oct. 16   LAD 1, CHC 0 Gm 3 Oct. 18   LAD 6, CHC 0 Gm 4 Oct. 19   CHC 10, LAD 2 Gm 5 Oct. 20 8 p.m. CHC @ LAD FS1 Gm 6 Oct. 22 8 p.m.  LAD @ CHC FS1 *Gm 7 Oct. 23 8 p.m. LAD @ CHC FS1 * If necessary | All times listed ET  • NLCS coverageShop for postseason gear: Cubs | Dodgers

“Up five runs, yeah, I was pretty surprised,” Lackey said of the move.

Maddon had his reasons.

“John doesn’t normally walk people like that,” Maddon said. “So up comes [Chase] Utley, [Corey] Seager, [Justin] Turner, [Adrian] Gonzalez, third time around. Again, it’s not like, you know, the middle of June. It’s just you’ve got to play a little bit differently from the pitching perspective. So we did, and it worked out.”

Montgomery, Carl Edwards Jr., Travis Wood, Pedro Strop and Hector Rondon combined to finish the game, with Montgomery not only …

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