OSS: Inconsistent umpiring and inability to execute despite it sinks the Cubs.
Three up:
1. I take back anything bad I’ve said about Herrera. He was on third base in the third inning and the Padres had a big shift on for Rizzo, leaving him uncovered at 3b. He took some huge leads, which led to Shields threatening to run over to pick him off for lack of anything better to do and got in his head enough to score on a wild pitch.
2. Kris Bryant may have had a tough day at the plate, but he sure brought his glove.
3. Props to Joe Maddon, who got ejected after the second Padres home run following a should have been third strike.
Three Down
1. Terrible umpiring from home plate umpire Sam Holbrook, whose strike zone was all over the place yesterday. Brett took a look at the pfx on Brooks and the two pitches referenced above were pretty borderline by the definition of the strike zone, but given the big zone he was calling yesterday the pitchers and Maddon had every right to be annoyed. Some folks went to edit his wikipedia page to say he was blind and that also pointed out that people paid to see the players, not an ump show. His page also mentioned that he was responsible for the infamous infield fly rule call in the 2012 NL Wild Card game. It also mentioned that he spent all of last year on the bereavement list after his wife died of cancer, and I felt bad for laughing.
2. Kris Bryant struck out in his first three at bats, and was completely fooled by Shields’s changeup. Some moran fan shouted “YOU SUCK” at him right away, which makes you wonder why the Cubs like to start prospects on the road.
3. The call was correct, but frustrating, when a Dexter Fowler double got visibly lodged in the vines in LF. The Padres OFs did the smart thing and put their hands up making it a ground rule double, but it’s frustrating that the ground rule applied here. I always thought it was for balls that disappeared or were had to find, not those that were just sitting there waiting to be picked up. Bleh. It was pretty funny that they just left it there. I was hoping someone would collide with the wall and start a multiball situation at Wrigley.
Next Game: Hendricks vs Ross, 1:20 PM CT
Cubs Lineup
- CF Fowler
- RF Soler
- 1B Rizzo
- 3B Bryant
- LF Coghlan
- SS Castro
- C Montero
- P Hendricks
- 2b Herrera
Wonder what’s up with Mendy.