The Cubs’ faith in Addison Russell paid off big time in NLCS Game 4

LOS ANGELES — One of the biggest questions the Chicago Cubs faced heading into Game 4 of the National League Championship Series was how to jumpstart their offense and, more specifically, what they should do about shortstop Addison Russell.

Russell answered both questions in the fourth inning Wednesday in the Cubs’ win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. What should the Cubs do? Give the kid a high-five.

With one swing, Russell showed why the Cubs were wise to stick with him and he sent Dodgers starter Julio Urias to the showers. Russell blasted a two-run homer to right-center that capped a four-run Cubs rally. It was one of the biggest moments of their 10-2 win, knotting the series at two and guaranteeing it returns to Wrigley Field.

Talk about ending a dry spell: Russell hadn’t gotten a hit since Game 3 of the NLDS against the San Francisco Giants. He was 0-for-9 in the series against the Dodgers and 0-for-12 going back to the NLDS. Wednesday, he got three hits in all. That makes four for him in the postseason.

“I’ve been struggling this postseason a little bit, but didn’t panic,” Russell said after the game. “My confidence was still there. I feel like I’ve been seeing the ball well, taking some pretty good swings. So definitely wasn’t panicking. I was a little more frustrated than anything else. But got back down to about my work and my athletic, my work ethic, and it’s fine. So it’s definitely a sigh of relief to have a big night.”

Before the game, manager Joe Maddon was asked about his faith in Russell and what kind of conversations they’d make the past few days.

“Addie’s fine,” Maddon said. “It’s just he’s 22. He’s experiencing postseason for the first time. He was hurt last year. And I’m very proud of what he’s doing and how he’s doing it. So, yeah, we attempt to talk. And when I do have those conversations, believe me, it’s all about simplification. The ‘Do simple better’ mantra again. It is all about simplicity. Everybody thinks that when things go wrong that you need a complicated answer.”

Sometimes you just need a 94 mph four-seamer across the plate.

Before Russell’s homer, the Cubs broke out of a team-wide funk. They brought home the first run of the fourth on an RBI single by Willson Contreras, which was their first run in 21 innings, dating back to Game 1. They made it 2-0 when Jason Heyward grounded to second and Javier Baez raced home.

All that meant an early exit for Urias, the 20-year-old Dodgers starter, who was making only his second postseason appearance. He didn’t allow a hit in the first three innings, but that wouldn’t last. The Cubs didn’t stop there either. Anthony Rizzo, another of their slumping sluggers, added another homer in the fifth inning off reliever Pedro Baez to make it 5-0.

“It should help their confidence, there’s no question about that,” Maddon said after the Cubs’ win. “When you going through the moment they were, it’s a confidence issue. It always is. So going into tomorrow, I know when they show up at the ballpark, there’s going to be a good balance about them. Probably going to see the ball better, slow things down a little bit. Those kind of buzzwords that you’re always looking for when a guy starts swinging the bat well. But, yeah, more than anything, it’s about confidence, and I want to believe they’re going to show up tomorrow with a lot more confidence than they showed up with today.”

You had to know the Cubs bats — Russell and Rizzo among them — were going to wake up sooner or later.

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Mike Oz is the editor of Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at mikeozstew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @MikeOz