CHICAGO _ Pitching coach Chris Bosio leaned back into his chair when asked to assess manager Joe Maddon's style during a session at the Cubs Convention in January.
"Joe tries to win every inning," Bosio said in a convincing manner.
Never was that mission so apparent Saturday night.
Kyle Hendricks pitched 71/3 innings of two-hit ball and a relentless offense knocked out Clayton Kershaw after five innings to put an exclamation point on a 5-0 victory to capture the National League Championship Series before a delirious Wrigley Field crowd of 42,386.
The Cubs outscored the Dodgers 23-6 in the final three games to win this best-of-seven series 4-2 and claim their first NL pennant since 1945.
The ultimate mission of the 2016 season _ to win the World Series _ starts Tuesday night against the American League champion Indians at Progressive Field.
The Cubs' fundamental blueprint was executed to near perfection from the start Saturday night, as second base wizard Javier Baez chased Andrew Toles out of the baseline to start a double play in the first inning.
Then, in the bottom half of the inning, Kris Bryant poked a low, outside pitch into right field to score Dexter Fowler for the first run. The Cubs capitalized on Toles' error in left field to score their second run on Ben Zobrist's a sacrifice fly, marking the first time Kershaw allowed two runs in the first inning this season.
Unlike Game 2, when the three-time Cy Young Award winner needed only 32 pitches to get through the first three innings, the Cubs tested him early as Baez fouled off three two-strike pitches before popping out. Kershaw needed 30 pitches to get out of the first.
The resurgent Addison Russell led of the second with a double and scored on Fowler's two-out single, and the Cubs added home runs from rookie Willson Contreras and Anthony Rizzo in the fourth and fifth.
The Cubs made Kershaw, who was working on five days' rest after limiting the Cubs to two hits in Game 2, pay dearly for his lack of pinpoint control. Kershaw, who had retired the first 14 batters in Game 2, allowed five hits to the first 14 batters he faced, including three doubles.
The renaissance became more convincing when Contreras led off the fourth with his homer and raised his right hand while running to first.
For his part, the soft-throwing Hendricks, who emerged from his fifth-starter role as arguably the Cubs' most dependable pitcher with 16 victories and a major league-low 2.13 ERA, limited the Dodgers to Toles' single on the game's first pitch until Josh Reddick singled with one out in the eighth. Hendricks then gave way to Aroldis Chapman despite throwing only 88 pitches and walking none while striking out six.
