Wood fires ceremonial first pitch for Game 4
Former Cubs pitcher honors Banks, Santo during pregame festivities
CHICAGO -- For a game that started at 3:37 p.m. CT on Tuesday, plenty of fans found the time on a weekday to get away from work, and they saw the Cubs clinch their first postseason series at Wrigley Field in franchise history with a 6-4 win over the Cardinals.
Game 4 of the National League Division Series brought in an enthusiastic sellout crowd, with fans lined up outside the gates hours in advance and packing into the seats 30 minutes before the first pitch was thrown.
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Some fans said they planned their day around Tuesday's game after the Cubs hit six homers to win Game 3, 8-6, on Monday to take a 2-1 series lead. Others who couldn't get tickets packed bars and restaurants around Wrigley Field.
Fan favorite John Vincent performed his rendition of the national anthem before former Cubs pitcher Kerry Wood threw out the ceremonial first pitch. Wood, who shares the MLB record for the most strikeouts in one nine-inning game (20), came out wearing a No. 14 Ernie Banks jersey to honor the Cubs legend -- and donned a baseball cap featuring No. 10, to honor late Cubs great Ron Santo.
Chicago native and Pearl Jam lead vocalist Eddie Vedder was in attendance for Tuesday's game, as were actors John Cusack and Jim Belushi.
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On Monday, former Cubs second baseman and Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg threw out the first pitch and also wore No. 14 to honor Banks, who passed away in January. The Cubs also honored Banks during the seventh-inning stretch with a video of the former infielder singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame."
Tuesday, they honored former broadcaster Harry Caray during the seventh inning with a video of the Hall of Fame broadcaster singing as well. Carey passed away in 1998.