Cubs 16, Diamondbacks 4

In Postgame by berselius292 Comments

OSS: More of this, please.

Three up:

  1. Jon Lester picked up his 2000th strikeout and hit his first major league home run. He also singled in this game, which should indicate how well everyone was seeing Dbacks starter Patrick Corbin tonight.
  2. Anthony Rizzo also blasted two home runs, bringing his season total up to 26. He's well on pace to pass the 31-32 home run totals from his last three seasons and is having a quietly great year that is masked by a .242 BABIP. He's cut his strikeout rate by nearly a quarter, and has the best walk rate of his career (technically just below his rookie season in SD), and his ISO is right in line with last year's.
  3. Ian Happ and Javy Baez also went yard in this game. It's kind of funny that the Cubs loaded up on RHBs and then saw both lefties in the lineup hit homers off of the starter.

Three down:

  1. It was not a super efficient start for Lester, to say the least. The tone was set by the double digit pitch PA by the Dbacks leadoff hiter, though at least Lester was able to strike him out.
  2. Despite the home run, Javy was the only Cub to end up with a negative WPA in this game thanks to an inning ending groundout in the first inning mini-rally and a double play in the third.
  3. The Cubs have a much tougher draw tomorrow, and the next week and a half in general. Luckily after that it is a lot of games against teams like the Reds and Mets.

Next up: Zack Godley takes on Jake Arrieta at 7:05 PM CT. I forgot that Godley used to be in the Cubs org – he was sent to AZ in the Montero deal. I remember exactly zero about him, so he must have been a lottery ticket that the Dbacks were lucky enough to hit on.

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  1. SK

    Ian Happ and Javy Baez also went yard in this game. It’s kind of funny that the Cubs loaded up on RHBs and then saw both lefties in the lineup hit homers off of the starter.

    Happ is a switch hitter, isn’t he?

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  2. Berselius is too lazy to login

    SK,

    Aye, you are right. And so is Zobrist of course. I tend to assume that switch hitters are better from the left side though.

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  3. Rice Cube

    I also thought at end of game that it would’ve been fun to put Schwarber at C to give Contreras a breather, but whatever.

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  4. Edwin

    I just received a call from Kyle Schwarber. He said he’s fine not playing catcher, and that I’m probably the greatest Cubs fan of all time.

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  5. myles

    Edwin:
    I just received a call from Kyle Schwarber.He said he’s fine not playing catcher, and that I’m probably the greatest Cubs fan of all time.

    I believe this without reservation.

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  6. Berselius is too lazy to login

    Sounds like the Cubs would have traded Davis and other rental types if they hadn’t gotten off to such a hot start after the break.

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  7. Berselius

    To-day’s base ball squadron

    2B Zobrist
    3B Bryant
    1B Rizzo
    LF War Bear
    C Avila
    SS Russell
    RF Heyward
    CF Jay
    P Arrieta

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  8. cerulean

    josh,

    One should not be surprised that he normally calls football for radio. I can’t help but think of the George Carlin bit.

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  9. Edwin

    cerulean:
    josh,

    One should not be surprised that he normally calls football for radio. I can’t help but think of the George Carlin bit.

    (Ring) “Hello” “Hello, Dave?” “Yeah, this is Dave. Who is this?” “This is Jane.” “Jane? Jane who?” “Jane” “Jane Jane?” “Jane. You met me at a party about 6 to 8 weeks ago and you said I was a real good sport.” “Oh, Christ yeah. How are you, Jane?” “Pregnant! And I’m gonna jump out the window!” “Say, you are a good sport, aren’t ya, Jane?”

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  10. Edwin

    Why don’t football teams run a formation with 10 OL and 1 RB getting the direct snap? If you can average 3 YPC with a small standard deviation you’d be unstoppable.

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  11. Rice Cube

    Edwin,

    I believe it has to do with what their jersey numbers are and also how many are actually supposed to be directly on the line of scrimmage.

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  12. Rizzo the Rat

    I don’t know how I feel about the new guy catching Arrieta. I hope he’s good at blocking wild pitches.

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  13. Edwin

    “The feeling is back,” said Rizzo, whose sore upper back didn’t stop him from launching his 25th and 26th home runs, two of the five the Cubs hit off the playoff-race-relevant Diamondbacks (60-46). “All those good vibes, all those good juices that we’ve had for the last couple years are back.

    “It’s just a different look in guys’ eyes. It’s a different feeling. I can’t pinpoint it to one thing. It’s just everyone feels really good right now.”

    Cubs need to stay on the juice.

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  14. Berselius is too lazy to login

    To-day's base ball squadron

     

    CF Jay

    3B Bryant

    1B Rizzo

    C Contreras

    LF Schwarber

    2B Happ

    RF Heyward

    SS Baez

    P Quintana

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  15. dmick89

    SK,

    I kind of remember that. The first to do it this year was Miguel Montero and since then Rizzo had done it twice (now three times). Why Rizzo needs the media to believe the team is back is confusing. Who gives a shit what they think?

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  16. dmick89

    Play by play cheat sheet for Quintana starts:

    Line drive _________ to _________
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  17. Smokestack Lightning

    Perkins:
    Maybe the Cubs should stop saying they’re back and just keep playing like they’re back.

    (dying laughing), true.

    But were we actually expecting they’d light up Greinke today?

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  18. Perkins

    Smokestack Lightning: (dying laughing), true.

    But were we actually expecting they’d light up Greinke today?

    Probably not, but they seem to have had Kershaw’s number the past few years, so anything’s possible.

    What I’d not expected was for Quintana to lay an egg like that.

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  19. Smokestack Lightning

    dmick89:
    Someone should tell the starters that giving up home runs is a bad thing. I’m not sure they know it. s

    I dunno. Keeps the bases clean so you don’t have to pitch out of the stretch, which I would imagine can be harder on the body, and, if you give up enough of them, you get the showers all to yourself and first dibs on the post-game spread.

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  20. Smokestack Lightning

    Perkins: What I’d not expected was for Quintana to lay an egg like that.

    Outside of that first adrenaline-fueled monster start, I’ve been underwhelmed by Quintana as well, but I suppose there is a plausible defense to be crafted out of blaming most of his problems today on Paul Goldschmidt being really good at hitting baseballs.

    I don’t give enough of a shit right now to make it with any kind of enthusiasm, but if any of you want to give it a go, I’ll give it a half-hearted +1.

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  21. Smokestack Lightning

    I have to say I’m pleased Contreras was allowed to play baseball today.

    Also, Quintana’s decision to give up a 2nd HR to Goldschmidt appears to have been a poor one.

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  22. cerulean

    Oh shit—there is a game on and I missed all the bad parts! Hopefully I can feel the crushing weight of disappointment again!

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  23. uncle dave

    Might’ve considered using Davis in the 8th and rolling the dice in the 9th against the bottom of the order, but whatever.

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  24. Perkins

    cerulean:
    Oh shit—there is a game on and I missed all the bad parts! Hopefully I can feel the crushing weight of disappointment again!

    Carl Edwards requests that you hold his beer.

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  25. Perkins

    On the plus side, the realistic best case for the DBags this year is getting swept by the Dodgers in the NLDS.

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  26. Rizzo the Rat

    I’m also not 100% sure that Contreras’ bunt attempt was a bad idea, since he’s pretty good at bunting for a hit and it would have been nice to get the potential tying run on with no outs. That said, I think I’d rather he swung away and possibly got an extra-base hit.

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  27. Smokestack Lightning

    Rizzo the Rat: Except in the days they don’t. Which is most days.

    Don’t care. We hates them. Curse them! Curse them! Filthy little bullpenses! Tricksy. False.

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  28. dmick89

    I have a feeling one team in the Cubs/Nats series is going to sweep the other. I wish I could say I thought it would be the Cubs, but I don’t think the 44 mph fastballs that Hendricks throws is going to result in a win today.

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  29. Perkins

    myles,

    I’ve generally found the content there (particularly from Cerami) to be pretty decent. The audience/commenters, however…that’s another story entirely.

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  30. Author
    berselius

    dmick89:
    I have a feeling one team in the Cubs/Nats series is going to sweep the other. I wish I could say I thought it would be the Cubs, but I don’t think the 44 mph fastballs that Hendricks throws is going to result in a win today.

    At least 44 mph fastballs would mean that he could throw twice as many pitches, and spare us from the bullpen.

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  31. Myles

    Perkins:
    myles,

    I’ve generally found the content there (particularly from Cerami) to be pretty decent. The audience/commenters, however…that’s another story entirely.

    I enjoy the content, but the layout is horrible as is the comment section.

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  32. Perkins

    Myles,

    The comment section is a mountain of garbage begging for a cleansing fire. But that would probably hurt Brett’s traffic quite a bit.

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  33. Myles

    Perkins:
    Myles,

    The comment section is a mountain of garbage begging for a cleansing fire. But that would probably hurt Brett’s traffic quite a bit.

    I think he knows and had disengaged to some extent.

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  34. uncle dave

    Myles,

    See, I never read the comments. I know when I come to OV I usually just read the articles and never scroll below the equator. It’s a very rewarding experience.

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  35. Edwin

    Perkins,

    There’s this commentor named “Marlow” who posts over there, seems like a real loser. I guarantee you he’s bad. He’s not going to be a wonderful person who goes on to work for the local milk people.

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  36. Perkins

    dmick89,

    Almost certainly so, though the team with the best regular season record in history lost in the World Series, and the second best team lost in the ALCS. So weird shit is definitely possible.

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  37. EnricoPallazzo

    i’m not sure if it was a temporary glitch in gameday or just my eyes playing tricks on me but i’m pretty sure that for about 3 seconds, gameday was showing that javy baez struck out on a one-pitch AB. i wasn’t even surprised. i just assumed he swung at a first pitch that was so far out of the zone that the ump just called him out.

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  38. Perkins

    dmick89,

    I just really dislike Los Angeles and the roughly 50 mile radius around it, so I’m happy to see the Dodgers lose.

    But Vin Scully was the very best.

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  39. Rizzo the Rat

    Perkins:
    I miss the Ben Zobrist who wasgood.

    Well, I figured the back end of his contract would be pretty ugly when they signed him. Wait, he has two years left?

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  40. dmick89

    uncle dave: I think we can all agree that the Christian thing to do in this case would be to retire.

    I thought the Christian thing to do was take rights away from whoever disagrees with them. Was I wrong?

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  41. Edwin

    At least the Cubs have a great farm system, with wave after wave of prospects coming up in the next few years to help their sustained success.

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  42. Edwin

    dmick89: I thought the Christian thing to do was take rights away from whoever disagrees with them. Was I wrong?

    We also like coffee and potluck dinners.

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  43. uncle dave

    Edwin,

    Based on my experience, the potlucks are a lot better than the coffee. I mean, I like coffee in my coffee. Not a strong point of the Wesleyans, tbqh.

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  44. dmick89

    Edwin: At least the Cubs have a great farm system

    This is quite true, though they are going to miss their top prospect, Jeimer Candelario. I also noticed that about 50% of their minor league prospects are pitchers so there’s that too.

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  45. Author
    berselius

    uncle dave:
    Edwin,

    Based on my experience, the potlucks are a lot better than the coffee.I mean, I like coffee in my coffee.Not a strong point of the Wesleyans, tbqh.

    I’d rather drink the coffee – in my experience potlucks always consist of 70-90% pasta salads, which I find disgusting.

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  46. dmick89

    berselius,

    I don’t trust people I barely know to make food that I find edible. I don’t drink coffee, but if it’s coffee and potluck, I’m going with coffee. I’ll starve and drink something that repulses me.

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  47. EnricoPallazzo

    dmick89:
    berselius,

    I don’t trust people I barely know to make food that I find edible. I don’t drink coffee, but if it’s coffee and potluck, I’m going with coffee. I’ll starve and drink something that repulses me.

    This is a sentiment that I did not think anyone shared with me. I hate coffee but it’s a billion times better than potlucks. Awkward conversation and shitty disgusting food…i’ll pass.

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  48. dmick89

    Rizzo the Rat,

    This is like 2007. If you’d told me in August or September of 2015 that in just two years the Cubs would have to fight and claw to get to the high 80s in wins, I’d have laughed. The worst part is that this team really has declined in talent that much.

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  49. Rizzo the Rat

    Now a reporter is asking if we remember Murphy in the 2015 playoffs. I think I have a vague recollection…

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  50. Perkins

    To day’s base ball squadron:
    Jay
    Bryant
    Rizzo
    Contreras
    Schwarber
    Happ
    Heyward
    Baez
    Lester

    I get that his bat is scorching hot, but it would probably be a good idea to get Contreras an actual day of rest sometime.

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  51. Perkins

    dmick89,

    I think so; Caratini caught the Sunday game last week, so that would have been two days off with the Monday off day. I’m thinking more about the cumulative effect of his catching about 6 days a week for most of the season.

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  52. Author
    berselius

    They must have seen the video from Lester’s last game to bring in the lefty here rather than wait for Jay (dying laughing)

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  53. dmick89

    In all honesty the Cubs should be happy they got a year and a half of decent production from Edwards. That was a year and a half more than anyone expected. It’s just too bad Joe has no idea how or when to use a bullpen.

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  54. Rizzo the Rat

    Something about that little dribbler by Harper had “this is where the wheels come off” written all over it.

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  55. myles

    It might be time to consider if Willson Contreras is the best player on the team, now. I still think it’s clearly Bryant, but I’m willing to listen to arguments to the contrary.

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  56. myles

    Contreras is a career 126 wRC+ with very good defense at a premium defensive position.
    Bryant is a career 140 wRC+ with pretty good defense at a middle defensive position.
    (Rizzo is a career 131 wRC+ with elite defense at the worse defensive position.)

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  57. dmick89

    myles,

    If Contreras walked more he could be a great hitter. It would probably help him to have someone who can hit hitting behind him. Since zobrist sucks, I wouldn’t mind willson leading off.

    On another note, I miss Kris Bryant’s power. It’s been gone for awhile now.

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  58. Perkins

    dmick89,

    I think the hand injury is sapping Bryant’s power. If the race weren’t as close as it is, I think he would have done a DL stint rather than playing through it.

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  59. EnricoPallazzo

    is there a reason that no one is really talking about jen ho tseng? great in 2014 then sucked the past two years but fantastic again in 2017. obviously a small sample size but at this point i’ll take what i can get from a completely barren farm system.

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  60. Myles

    EnricoPallazzo:
    is there a reason that no one is really talking about jen ho tseng? great in 2014 then sucked the past two years but fantastic again in 2017. obviously a small sample size but at this point i’ll take what i can get from a completely barren farm system.

    Found out his middle name was “Smoak-Inmeerors.”

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