The Cubs are back at Wrigley after a slump-y road trip, albeit one where they went 4-5. Putting up a .500ish record in a road series that included a trip to the west coast is not all bad. The Phightins have had almost as a surprising start as the Cubs. Maybe even more so, given the expectations going into the …
Cubs 9, Cardinals 8 (5.25.16)
OSS: An ugly win is still a win Three up Kris Bryant had a great day at the plate, going 2-3 with a walk and a homer. He was the Cubs overall WPA leader on the day but the biggest single individual play was… Jason Heyward's two-run double in the second inning. The Cubs scored in a hurry in the …
Cubs 12, Cardinals 3 (5.24.16)
OSS: That’s more like it Three up: The Cubs jumped on Michael Wacha early, batting around and scoring six runs in the first inning. It feels strange to have gotten used to seeing Cubs pitchers get a PA before they even take the mound. David Ross had the biggest WPA play in the rally, a bases loaded double that drove …
Cubs 3, Cardinals 4 (5.23.16)
OSS: Cubs outplay the Cardinals, lose anyway. Three up The Cubs biggest play of the day by WPA was Ben Zobrist‘s seeing-eye single up the middle in the ninth, making it first and third with one out and Rizzo coming to the plate. Zobrist had a great day at the plate in general, going 3-4 with a walk and a …
Cubs 8, Giants 1, Heyward injured
OSS: Cubs win handily on Jake Arrieta day, but Heyward goes down early. Three One down Jason Heyward left the game after making a spectacular catch near/into the wall in the first inning. He slid into the padded wall and came up holding his side. No word form the Cubs on how serious it is, and any tentative reports you see should be …
Series Preview: Chicago Cubs (28-11) at San Francisco Giants (24-18)
The Cubs dropped two of three to the Brewers, and now travel to the west coast to face an actual good team. Now that I’m west coast adjacent I wish this was a weekday series, it’s nice when the games start after I get home for once (dying laughing). The Giants are coming off of a three game sweep of …
Cubs 2, Brewers 1 (5/18/16)
OSS: Against all odds, Travis Wood saves the day. Three up: Travis Wood Houdini-ed himself out of an impossible jam in the twelfth inning. He inherited two runners from Rondon, who was working in his second inning, then walked Santana to load the bases with nobody out. The Cubs brought an outfielder for the extra shot at the force at home but …
Brewers 4, Cubs 2 (5/17/16)
OSS: Chase Anderson no-hits the Cubs into the eighth inning, nearly completes the shutout. Three up Jason Heyward is still a member of the No Homers Club, but he picked up his first one in the ninth today. Now that that monkey is off his back* maybe we’ll see more power out of him. Kris Bryant went back to back with …
Series Preview: Chicago Cubs (27-9) vs Milwaukee Brewers (16-22)
The Brewers find themselves neck and neck with the Reds for the worst record in the NL central division. Their offense has been middle of the pack in the NL so far, and in fact they are second only to the Cubs in walk rate (11.0% to the Cubs 12.6%). But the pitching, particularly the starting pitching, has been putrid. …
Cubs 8, Pirates 2
OSS: “I recalled the line from the Bhagavad Gita – I am become Jake Arrieta, destroyer of worlds” Three up Pitcher vs team stats are dumb, but Arrieta is almost as much of a bogeyman for Pirates fans as he is to Orioles fans at this point. His only hiccup was with the pirates mini-rally in the fourth, after that he …