OSS: Bryant and Heyward fuel a Cubs comeback.
Three up:
- Kris Bryant poured a dump truck full of concrete into the foundation of his MVP case, hitting home runs number 34 and 35 to lead the Cubs to victory and put him back in the NL lead for homers. He might even have passed Mike Trout in the fWAR race, though updates have yet to come through at the time I’m writing this. It was especially nice to see on the same day that some aspersions were cast on his non-clutchness this season. Heh.
- Jason Heyward had two (!) hits in this game, including the most important non-HR ball of the game for the Cubs. It was his first multi-hit game since August 1, and he has three extra base hits in the four games since his mental break weekend in Denver. Credit to Heyward for some heads-up baserunning as well, scoring following a whole lot of wildness from the normally unhittable Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen.
- The Cubs pen had a solid night filling in the rest of the innings behind the still stretching out Mike Montgomery, going 5 innings with seven strikeouts, one walk, and one run (a solo shot to Adrian Gonzalez).
One middle (?):
- I want to give some credit to Mike Montgomery, but I don’t really know how much. He struggled much more in this start than he did in Colorado, and I wasn’t sure if he was going to make through three innings. But he managed to tough it out and give the Cubs five much needed innings without putting the game out of reach. I’m not saying he didn’t have a little luck along the way though. Get well soon, John Lackey.
Three down:
- Speaking of Monty, what the hell was he doing at the plate in the fifth inning? The Cubs needed innings, but not *that* badly. He laid down a pretty terrible bunt, which beat his previous PA in the first where he swung away until he got to two strikes before trying to bunt. Mrgh.
- Ben Zobrist had a rough game WPA-wise, but a lot of that should reflect less on him and more on Chase Utley, who made an absolutely ridiculous throw from his back to nail Zobrist and end a fifth-inning jam for the Dodgers.
- Jorge Soler put up an 0-fer, though luckily few of them were in particularly crucial situations. The PA that was ended up not costing him that much since it was a wild pitch strikeout that set up Heyward to score the tying run.
Next up: Jason Hammel takes on Juilo Urias at 3:05 PM CT
Comments
Soler also misplayed a ball that was somehow ruled a double be Seager. Tough day.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
The Rangers have a negative run differential again. I really hope to see them in October/November.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Wow. I fell asleep when it was 4-3. Wish I’d been able to stay up, though it is nice to wake up and see the Cubs have won when you fell asleep thinking they’d more than likely lost.
dmick89Quote Reply
Looks like Maeda is getting pushed back a day, and the Cubs will face a guy who started the season in A ball tomorrow.
berseliusQuote Reply
berselius,
Cubs lose. Oh wait, this isn’t 2012.
dmick89Quote Reply
No. Just listening to the audiobooks again narrated by Nick Podehl. Rothfuss mentioned on his podcast that the reason it keeps taking so long is he has written hundreds of thousands of words, and cut them. But I suppose that’s why they are so rich. He seems to be hinting that he is getting close, but he has said these things before. I think he is a year from publication, same as the last two years.
ceruleanQuote Reply
I think right now it’s just trying to set up the relievers for rest and effectiveness and so I’m not too annoyed about Montgomery going 5. It’s a good time to experiment since they’re about 3 light-years ahead in the standings in all meaningful ways.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
cerulean,
I love those audiobooks, the narrator is great. They made their way into my commute rotation last month. I’m a little worried that Rothfuss has a shitload of stuff to wrap up in one book, but on the other hand he’s the kind of guy who could leave a lot of those loose threads hanging and still make it work within the style of the books.
berseliusQuote Reply
berselius,
Makes little sense to me to save a better pitcher for the Rockies than for an actual good team but maybe it’s a division thing?
Rice CubeQuote Reply
It’s kind of a head scratcher. They have an eleven game lead on the Rockies and need all the wins they can get to stay ahead of SF.
berseliusQuote Reply
berselius,
I think we are left with a broken house at the end of a broken road—not loose threads, threads meticulously pulled bare.
ceruleanQuote Reply
That’s easily my favorite of all the stories he tells from that universe.
berseliusQuote Reply
cerulean,
Have you seen the theory out there that Denna is/is connected to the moon?
berseliusQuote Reply
The Cardinals are as close to last place as they are to first.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
berselius,
Yeah. It’s an interesting one: the seeming constant search for her name, her all-she-can-do-is-leave nature, and her description compared to that of the moon. I don’t think she is the moon, but she certainly is pulled away against her will as much as she pulls everyone’s gaze toward her. My personal guess is that she is the daughter of the moon and caught in the middle of the creation war. I think she has had her name taken from her and is searching for a way to get it back. That’s what I suspect her patron (good, evil, or just grey) is really offering, knowledge of how to shape names instead of just names themselves.
ceruleanQuote Reply
New Shit
http://obstructedview.net/kris-bryant-nl-mvp-front-runner/
mylesQuote Reply