CHICAGO — It was a let’s-play-two jewel of an evening at Wrigley Field, the shadows of summer long and sharp as the Cubs and the Giants gathered for a showdown.
Chicago, a team so young that its best players have doubtful beards, prepared to take on San Francisco, the reigning World Series champion and as savvy a club as can be found. The Giants were a half-game ahead of the Cubs in a battle for a playoff spot.
The Cubs’ manager, Joe Maddon, held his pregame meeting with reporters in a cramped cinder-block room deep in the bowels of this ancient stadium.