OSS: Cubs strike out 18 times on the way to a loss
Three up:
1. Aside from a Braun HR in the first (and another near-HR his next time up), I thought Arrieta looked pretty good in this game. Just all the bad luck you can think of in the second, with a bunch of bloops and meh contact finding holes for hits. In his not-defense though, the Brewers were running wild on him as he had no interest in holding runners.
2. Rizzo was the lone bright spot on offense for the day, launching a HR that must have landed just a few feet away from Braun’s.
3. Edwin Jackson struck out three in two innings of work at the end of the game, allowing just one very-unearned run.
Three down:
1. The Cubs defense gave up a facepalm-tastic little league HR in the eighth inning. Castro made a bad throw in the dirt that got away from Rizzo, and then when Schafer tried for third Rizzo gunned the ball over there only to discover there was no one covering the bag, allowing Schafer the ‘HR’.
2. A rough game for Kris Bryant, who picked up his first golden sombrero of the year.
3. Dexter Fowler also went 0-4, and was just a hair behind Bryant for the Cubs lowest position player WPA.
Next game: Jimmy Nelson vs Jason Hammel, 1:20 PM CT. Let’s get the series win.