OSS: Cubs let one slip away, but maintain their eleven game lead. Three up: Kris Bryant remains on fire, slugging a two run homer in the first inning to put the Cubs on the board before even conceding an out. It was his eleventh HR of the month, and he had hit .278/.379/.680 for the month going into today’s game. …
Series Preview: Chicago Cubs (51-26) at New York Mets (40-37)
I feel like I should be more fired up for this series than I am. The Cubs swept the Mets in both regular season series last year, and we saw how much that meant in the playoffs. Now both teams are coming off a 4-6 stretch with injury problems. For the Mets, the scariest sounding one is that Noah Syndergaard …
Cubs 9, Reds 2 (6.29.16)
OSS: What is best in life? To crush your enemies, to drive them before you, to hear the lamentations of their broadcasters. Three up: After a 15-inning marathon last night, Kyle Hendricks pitched into the seventh inning to help give the pen a breather. I was going to say that it’s pretty long for a Hendricks start, but he’s actually …
Cubs 7, Reds 2 (15 innings)
OSS: The Joe Maddon game? Three up This was a slog of a game that turned entertaining as it got weirder and weirder in the late innings. Joe Maddon had used all of his position players by the 13th inning, so when he needed to bring in new LHP cannon fodder Joel Peralta to relieve Cahill he had Peralta take …
Cubs 11, Reds 8 (6.27.16)
OSS: Kris Bryant has a day Three up Kris Bryant went 5-5 for 16 total bases. He posted a .670 WPA, as well as a 1042 wRC+ and supposedly 0.6 WAR according to the twitters, but I think it’s a case of someone conflating WPA with WAR. Though having your season wOBA jump 21 points in one game might be …
Cubs 1, Marlins 6 (6.26.16)
OSS: Cubs drop to 22 games over .500, all is lost. Three up: Heyward was the only Cubs hitter to post a positive WPA on the day, a whopping 0.09. A big chunk was due to a base-clogging single in the third that eventually led to the Cubs only run, the rest was from a leadoff single in the sixth …
Cubs 2, Marlins 4 (6.23.16)
OSS: Injuries starting to take their toll Three up: David Ross continues to spit in the face of father time, tying the game with a solo homer in the eighth and drawing a walk to load the bases in the ninth in the Cubs failed rally. He also TOOTBLAN’d Christian Yelich in the fourth inning and probably would have another …
Series Preview: Chicago Cubs (47-23) at Miami Marlins (38-34)
The Marlins have a winning record? Fuck the heck? Despite the Wei-Yin Chen signing most people were expecting them to be one of the many NL teams rebuilding this year, but once again they seem to have built a competitive team. Most importantly, a cheap competitive team. At the team level, they’re right around the league average at the plate …
Cubs 3, Cardinals 4 (6.21.16)
OSS: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Three up: Addison Russell had a three hit day, pacing the Cubs by far with a .316 WPA. All three hits were rally starters/continue-rs but he never found his way home, which is pretty much the story of this game. Gerardo Concepcion was solid in his MLB debut, striking out two and allowing no baserunners in 1.1 innings. …
Cubs 2, Cardinals 3 (6.20.16)
OSS: Cubs comeback squelched by a backbreaking TOOTBLAN Three up: Willson Contreras looked great in his first start as a Chicago Cub. He notched his second career RBI with a single in the third and nailed Matt Carpenter by a mile in a stolen base attempt in the top of the ninth. His receiving technique was reportedly a little shaky, …