Cubs 5, Reds 2

In Postgame by berselius27 Comments

OSS: Cubs finally win a series against the frickin’ Reds

Three up:

  1. Sonny Gray mostly kept the Cubs bats in check, but his two mistakes were deposited in the bleachers for solo shots by KB and Russell.
  2. That was all the offense the Cubs would need for most of the game, as Darvish had his A game today. Darvish struck out seven and walked none in six scoreless innings. In his past three starts combined, Darvish has thrown 18.2 innings, struck out 21 and issued just one walk. Maybe there’s an outside chance that he’ll get his ERA below 4 this season after all.
  3. Jason Heyward came up with a long double to RF to drive in some insurance runs in the seventh, and the Cubs turned out to need them.

Three down

  1. Brandon Kintzler had an uncharacteristically rocky outing, giving up two runs in the eighth inning. At least Heyward had widened the lead a bit the inning before.
  2. Somehow-the-leadoff-hitter Albert Almora went 0-4 with three strikeouts.
  3. The Brewers won, so the Cubs lead remains at 2.5

Next up:

The Cubs have an off day, then host the Padres for a three game set at Wrigley. Jon Lester takes on Eric Lauer at 1:20 PM CT on Friday.

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  2. andcounting

    David, you had mentioned not having a problem with the Dietrich interference play. On its own, I’d be ok with it, but that guy is a piece of shit. Every time he comes to the plate he’s looking for a chance to get hit, sticking his stupid elbow pad into the strike zone if necessary. He’s not taking advantage of the rules of baseball, he’s exploiting the umpires’ collective refusal to enforce the rule that clearly states a batter must make a reasonable attempt to avoid being struck by a pitch. The fact that umpires don’t have the balls to call out his chickenshit mockery of the game of baseball pisses me off, as does the smug little smirk that stretches across the anus he passes for a mouth every time he struts over to first.

    So when he exploited the interference rule by initiating contact with Rizzo without even trying to feign an attempt to field the ball (he wasn’t even heading in the ball’s direction by the time he hit Rizzo), I pretty much wanted him hit with a truck. Play the goddamn game. That’s why I laughed out loud when Javy refused to take 1st when he was granted it. It was a very clear FUCK YOU in Dietrich’s direction.

    And today when he stuck his knee into a pitch and had to leave the game? Happiest I’ve been in weeks. I hope he misses the rest of the season. Fuck that shit.

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  3. dmick89

    andcounting,

    I don’t know much about Dietrich other than some name recognition and seeing him play against the Cubs. I guess my response would be that if the umpires aren’t going to call it by the rules, what reason is there for Dietrich to not take advantage of the flaw or refusal of the umpires to call it correctly? I know it’s frustrating, but I also know I’ve seen Rizzo lean into a few pitches and it hasn’t bothered me since it’s never called the way it should be. Middle infielders took advantage of the umpires refusal to force fielders to have contact with the base while possessing the ball for decades on double plays. it wasn’t until replay that they began forcing fielders to do it right. I guess my point is, while the umpires were more than willing to let fielders get away with it, why shouldn’t they?

    As for the interference, I think it’s hard to figure out what exactly is going on there. At full speed it looks like obvious interference on Rizzo’s part. It’s only when you slow it down that you pick up on something that may show otherwise. I could believe that Dietrich intentionally made contact and made no effort to go after the ball, but I could also believe that his momentum took him forward after losing the ball and he attempted to not have an all out collision. I don’t know what happened, but Rizzo probably should have taken a couple steps more toward the grass to avoid any possibility of interference. For what it’s worth, I was also happy when he had to leave the game because he leaned into it.

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  6. Ryno

    andcounting:
    David, you had mentioned not having a problem with…Dietrich. Every time he comes…looking for a chance to get hit…by…umpires…balls to…his…anus.

    So when he exploited…Rizzo…in the ball’s direction…I pretty much wanted him. That’s why I…granted…a very clear FUCK…in Dietrich’s direction.

    Happiest I’ve been in weeks. I hope he…Fuck that shit.

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  18. dmick89

    That’s an error on the catcher, but Hosmer absolutely has to stop that ball. stupid throw, but Hosmer has to do whatever it takes to keep the ball from getting past him. Dumb play all around by the Padres this inning. Thanks.

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  22. andcounting

    dmick89,

    I saw only the replay, but it almost looked like Russell was going to try to score anyway after the ball was thrown to first. I wonder if he may have scored even if the first baseman had caught the throw. It was pretty dumb, but I agree with JD’s speculation that the intense heat probably takes its toll on the decision-making faculties. It’s hard to be too critical of anyone donning the gear behind the plate on a day like today.

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