OSS: Cubs rack up Cole’s pitch count for the second game in a row and chase him early. Three up: Anthony Rizzo paced the Cubs in WPA on the day, mostly due to a game tying double in the third inning and another in the fifth. It is great to see the hits dropping for him again. David Ross had the other …
Series Preview: Chicago Cubs (17-6) at Pittsburgh Pirates (15-10)
The Cubs and Pirates meet for the first time since the Cubs treated the Pirates like the Gatorade cooler in the Pirates dugout. One can hope that tempers are cooler this time around. The Pirates have come out of the gate hot with the best team wOBA in all of baseball. Their pitching, however, has been less good, posting a …
Cubs 7, Brewers 2 (4/28/16)
OSS: Cubs draw double digit walks, but lose Bryant to a mild ankle sprain. Three up: The Cubs drew 11 walks against the Brewers, who were unable to find the strike zone the whole game. All of the starters got on base at least once, but they were led by Anthony Rizzo who drew three walks and hit a double in the …
Cubs 4, Brewers 3 (4/26/16)
OSS: Maddon pulls the pitcher at the right time and the Cubs bats come through on the frozen tundra of Wrigley Field. Three up Addison Muscle had the biggest hit of the day, a two run triple into the gap that gave the Cubs the lead in the sixth inning. The Cubs made pretty good contact against Nelson, but the wind …
Series Preview: Milwaukee Brewers (8-11) at Chicago Cubs (14-5)
The Cubs kick off a six game homestand with a three game series against the Brewers. In fact, sixteen of the Cubs next nineteen games are at home, which seems kind of odd, scheduling-wise. They pay the piper going into the all-star break, when they play 14 or 17 on the road, including road series with the Mets and Pirates. Still, …
Cubs 9, Reds 0
OSS: iCarly Simon does it again Three up Anthony Rizzo homered twice and drew a walk, and was the Cubs WPA leader on the day, thus breaking Hammel's streak of being the leader on both sides of the ball in his starts. Because both of his hits were homers, his BABIP remains laughably low. Speaking of players heating up, Jason Heyward's …
Cubs 8, Reds 1 (4/22/16)
OSS: Cubs hit two homers in the rain and cruise to victory Three up Rizzo homered for his third straight game, and added two walks as well. The Cubs were very patient in general today, drawing five walks and pushing the Reds starter's pitch count up around 100 by the end of the fifth inning. They're just a meat grinder for …
Cubs 16, Reds 0, Arrieta 2 (no-hitters)
OSS: Jake. Arrieta. Those of us lucky enough to see this may have seen the most soul-crushing victory in modern MLB history. As mentioned by Len or JD during the game, the biggest margin of victory in a no-hitter was a 18-0 win in the 19th century between two teams that no longer exist. Huge props to Len for mentioning the no-hitter as …
Series Preview: Chicago Cubs (11-4) at Cincinnati Reds (8-7)
The Cubs follow up their series win against the Cardinals with ten straight games against the Reds, Brewers, and Barves. Not too shabby of a start to the season, schedule-wise. The Reds are coming off a series win vs the Rockies but have the Cubs, Mets, and Pirates up next on their slate. They have a winning record despite a …
Cardinals 5, Cubs 3 (4/20/16)
OSS: Post-rain delay karma not enough to push the Cubs over the top Three up Rizzo should have had two home runs today, but Grichuk robbed him of his first with a great catch at the wall to close out the first inning. The second one was a no-doubter, however, traveling 443 feet but felt like it was going to go …