Chicago Cubs Advance to NLDS: Highlights, Twitter Reaction to Celebration

Jake Arrieta's run of dominance continued Wednesday in a National League Wild Card contest as the Chicago Cubs defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates, 4-0, to clinch their first NLDS appearance since 2008.

Arrieta pitched a four-hit, complete-game shutout that saw him strike out 11 Pirates batters. According to ESPN's Karl Ravech, Arrieta is operating in truly elite air:

The win snapped Chicago's nine-game postseason losing streak, per ESPN Stats & Info, so it's no wonder the team went nuts upon recording the game's final out.

Before everyone could get to the clubhouse, it was time for a Gatorade shower, per Baseball Tonight:

"

Let the celebrations begin. #FlyTheW pic.twitter.com/B5pTQRS6A0

— Baseball Tonight (@BBTN) October 8, 2015"

The Cubs' official Twitter account passed along a photo of Arrieta greeting ecstatic fans following the win:

Once Arrieta and his teammates reached the clubhouse doors, bottles were promptly popped, per ESPNChicago.com's Jesse Rogers:

Arrieta's son was also allowed to take in the moment with his father, as the following photo illustrated:

Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Rogers later passed along video of Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder partaking in the locker room festivities:

The Chicago faithful celebrated quite a bit as well, per SportsCenter on Twitter:

Fans also flocked to Wrigley Field, according to Time Out Chicago:

Kyle Schwarber got the scoring started with a single to left field in the top of the first inning, and ultimately, that was all the Cubs needed to get past their NL Central rivals.

However, Schwarber didn't stop there. The power-hitting right fielder followed up with a mammoth two-run home run in the third inning that put the Cubs up 3-0:

Chicago bested a Pittsburgh team that simply couldn't solve Arrieta's brilliance after the Cubs ace closed out the regular season by allowing four earned runs over his final 12 starts (Aug. 4-Oct. 2).

Once the celebration winds down, Chicago will be treated to an NLDS meeting with a familiar foe. Next up for the Cubs are the St. Louis Cardinals, who finished the regular season with an MLB-best 100 wins.

Although the Cubs are bursting with confidence, they'll need to replicate Wednesday's performance against a Cardinals team that owned an 11-8 record against Chicago this season. Over the course of 19 regular-season showdowns, Chicago went 5-4 at home but just 3-7 on the road against the NL's most dominant club.

"We've got a long way to go," Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo said, per WGN-TV's Larry Hawley. "We haven't done anything yet."

One thing's for sure, though: For the first time in seven years, the Cubs are fighting for a spot in the National League Championship Series. And if this season has been any indication, shocking the baseball world might not be out of the question for a team that's regularly exceeded expectations.