With the Cubs on the NLCS ropes, Rizzo and Russell finally get back to mashing

The powerful duo had been awful in the postseason until each homered in Game 4

LOS ANGELES -- This had to have felt like a long time coming for both Anthony Rizzo and Addison Russell. The duo had been completely lost at the plate this postseason entering Game 4 of the NLCS, but both homered this time around, helping push the Cubs to a 10-2 victory on Wednesday to even the best-of-seven series at two games apiece.

Russell's shot was the big blow of the game, giving the Cubs a 4-0 lead after they finally broke their 21-inning scoring drought. Russell said later he was looking for a pitch to drive, mostly to make sure he got the runner on third base home, possibly with a sac fly. Instead he homered for the first time in over a month.

Rizzo followed with a solo homer next inning -- after just missing a home run on a foul ball a few pitches earlier. It was his first home run since Sept. 28.

One-half of the Cubs full starting infield in the All-Star Game, Rizzo and Russell combined to hit 50 homers with 204 RBI during the regular season. They entered Game 4 with zero RBI between the two of them this postseason. Rizzo was hitting .077/.200/.077, while Russell was slashing an even more dreadful .042/.080/.042.

"I'd been struggling this postseason a little bit, but didn't panic," Russell said. "My confidence was still there."

Russell added that he felt like he was getting good swings and seeing the ball well; the results just hadn't been bearing out his approach.

Frankly, he wasn't alone.

Yes, the entire offense had been struggling, but the two biggest culprits -- given their regular-season performances -- were Rizzo and Russell. We're talking about the three- and five-hole hitters entering the postseason (Russell had been dropped to eighth for Game 4).

It's awfully hard to win many games with those guys doing so poorly. Frankly, the Cubs had to be ecstatic to have gone 4-3 so far in the postseason under these specific circumstances.

As such, it was a bit fitting that when the Cubs finally broke through and the floodgates opened that these two perhaps would stop pressing and get back to what made them so successful in the regular season.

Teammates such as Dexter Fowler, David Ross and Miguel Montero specifically praised Rizzo and Russell for breaking out.

"It was just fun to watch them hit the ball like that again," starting pitcher John Lackey said of the entire offense.

Rizzo would surely say he wasn't pressing, but he had only two hits the entire postseason leading up to his home run.

"Our confidence is still up," Rizzo said. "The best part about the postseason is it's about the next at-bat. Turn the page for the next at-bat and be ready for that situation. It just takes one."

That one seemed to unleash Rizzo.

The following at-bat after his homer? He rocketed a two-run single into center field, pushing the Cubs' lead to 8-2. He added a third hit later, so in one game he collected more hits than the previous seven playoff games.

That two-run single came in the top of the sixth, marking the third consecutive inning the Cubs scored after they had previously gone 21 innings without a run.

Like Rizzo, Russell also had three hits Wednesday. He added a few loud outs in the form of warning track fly outs. With Russell, he did make one minor change and it was physical, not mental.

"The only thing that changed from last week is I lowered my hands a little bit," Russell said. "I really wasn't panicking, really wasn't nervous. It was just a matter of my teammates know what I bring to the plate and I wanted to show that in the postseason."

Obviously it wasn't just Rizzo and Russell. Ben Zobrist got things started with a bunt single to begin the fourth, giving the Cubs their first hit of the game off youngster Julio Urias. Javier Baez followed with a single and so did Willson Contreras -- who had the RBI that broke the drought. Jason Heyward did a good job putting the ball in play to get the second run of the game home, setting the table for Russell's two-run shot.

Zobrist and Dexter Fowler ended up with two hits to complement the three-hit outings from Russell and Rizzo in the Cubs' 13-hit effort. That's more than double what the entire team had in Games 2 and 3 combined (six).

For those watching the game instead of just perusing a box score, the difference from the previous two games and first three innings to the final three innings was evident as well. The Cubs had been meekly getting through innings at the plate, rarely squaring anything up. Once things got going in Game 4, even many of the outs and foul balls were hit hard.

It was like the entire offense had some kind of awakening. Suddenly what had been the best team in baseball throughout the entire regular season and five postseason games had its swagger back after a two-game hiatus.

"It was definitely a sigh of relief to have a big night," Russell said.

Probably an even better sign for the Cubs was that they did this without a hit from Kris Bryant, who was one of the few Cubs who was hitting well before the game. It's good news because one would expect he can easily bounce back and join in on the fun now that the Cubs have burst through their struggles.

Those floodgates? They were wide open in Game 4, with Rizzo and Russell leading the charge on the way through.