OSS: Cubs make a laugher of it early, and a nailbiter of it late.
Three Up
1. Jake Arrieta had a perfecto through 3, and ended the day allowing no earned runs (1 unearned on his own error, though), striking out 8 over 6 innings and allowing a single walk. Much like Rizzo deserves to finish around 3rd or 4th in MVP voting, Arrieta deserves to finish around 3rd or 4th in Cy Young voting.
2. Starlin Castro was around 5 feet shy of a cycle yesterday (if Marlon Byrd doesn’t get that liner in the 8th, he has a really good chance at a triple). Castro went 3-4 with a monster blast into the left-field bleachers. He hit the ball with authority all game, and has generally put good plate appearances together ever since his demotion. Soler’s injury has created an opportunity for Castro to reclaim some playing time at second base, and hopefully he makes the most of it.
3. The big play by WPA was Kyle Schwarber’s absolute explosion into the right-field porch. I love Schwarber’s softball swing, and the sound the ball makes coming of the bat seems like it was designed in a laboratory. Kyle has cooled down lately, but when he does get a hold of the ball, it’s a laser.
Three Down
1. There’s no getting around the fact that Tommy Hunter has been a disappointment this season. The Cubs traded essentially nothing for him (Junior Lake), but they’ve received what feels like half a win below replacement level in his few appearances. His FIP with Cubs this year is up to 4.68 on the 2 out/3 earned run performance (though he can thank #2 for his runners scoring).
2. Clayton Richard only faced two hitters. The first singled in a run on a liner to right. The second cleared the bases on a liner to center. If it weren’t for Strop, the inning could have REALLY went sideways. These two relievers made the game much closer than it need to be.
3. Dexter Fowler has been aflame lately, but he was ice cold in this game. Fowler went 0-5 with a run scored and 3 left on base. He’s due for a bad game, and we still won.
Race to the Actual Top
The Cardinals won again, 9-1. The Pirates lost, 5-2. That means the Cubs are still 6.5 back of the Cardinals but only 2 GB of the Pirates. The Cubs have a 96.9% chance to make the playoffs according to BP, and a 51.8% chance to make it past the play-in game.
Next Game
9:15 PM CT, Hendricks (6-5, 4.03) vs Peavy (3-6, 4.35)