That act of simplicity, after so many mighty swings and misses, turned out to be the start of something big. Another hit followed and then another, and soon there were Anthony Rizzo and Addison Russell — the most maligned hitters in the lineup — blasting home runs, sending the Cubs to a 10-2 victory on Wednesday night and leveling the National League Championship Series at two games apiece.

It was an emphatic win for the Cubs, who ensured that the series would return to Wrigley Field this weekend. Their ace, Jon Lester, will try to give them a lead to take home when he faces Kenta Maeda on Thursday night, with the Dodgers saying they will save Clayton Kershaw for Game 6 on Saturday.

“Sometimes when you don’t get things going your direction and you feel like you’re putting decent at-bats together or you’re just missing balls, that can get frustrating,” Zobrist said. “It can lead you down a path that you don’t want your confidence to go.”

The Cubs, who entered Wednesday night hitting .185 during the playoffs, had a breakout performance. Rizzo and Russell, who had a combined three hits in 50 playoff at-bats, picked up six hits alone on Wednesday and combined to drive in five runs — their first of the playoffs. Rizzo’s three hits came after he began the night with two strikes — and after he switched to teammate Matt Szczur’s bat.

“Same size, just a different model and different name,” Rizzo said. “And it worked.”

It was the Dodgers — whose aggressiveness throughout the series had put the Cubs on their heels — who came unhinged in a variety of ways. Justin Turner was picked off second. Second baseman Chase Utley hastily tried to bare-hand a toss from shortstop Corey Seager and dropped it. And left fielder Andrew Toles, with a chance to throw out Zobrist at the plate, let loose with a wild throw that sailed past catcher Yasmani Grandal.