David Haugh: Cubs dig deep, show incredible character and advance to third straight NLCS

WASHINGTON - Wade Davis peered in at Bryce Harper, one All-Star locked in against another Thursday night at Nationals Park, a scintillating National League Division Series coming down to the showdown everybody deserved.

Harper represented the tying run, Davis the symbol of the survival mode the Cubs required during a 4-hour, 37-minute marathon. When Harper swung and missed to give the Cubs a 9-8 victory over the Nationals, Davis showed more emotion than Chicago ever has seen from him. He yelled, he pumped his fists, he exulted. It was Davis' 44th pitch, his seventh out and his finest moment as a Cub.

California, here the