OSS: Some big home runs, and big hold by the bullpen
Three up
1. Kris Bryant had the biggest day at the plate, hitting a two-run homer and adding two walks on the day. The Cubs in general were remarkably patient against deGrom, who appeared to have a tougher time dealing with today’s tight strike zone than Lester.
2. Starlin Castro made an amazing defensive play for the first our of the ninth inning, diving for a screaming liner off the bat of Dilson Herrera. Rondon went on to get the double play ball on the next out and the game was over.
3. The bullpen was the other star of the day. Coming in relief of a shaky-ish Lester (4BB), they went three scoreless innings with only one hit, one walk, and one strikeout.
Three down
1. Hard to complain about a guy who posted a quality start and seemed to have his pitches mostly working for him early on, but I think Lester also got shaken up by the ump’s small strike zone. At least it seemed consistent this time.
2. The Cubs had plenty of chances to tack on in this game, but couldn’t get the insurance runs in. The lowest WPA play of the day for the Cubs was Castro grounding out in the seventh to end the inning
3. Rizzo had a few tough clutch situations too, grounding out to DeGrom with the bases loaded in the fourth and having clown shoes hung on him by Gilmartin in the seventh. That was one of the slideyest sliders that ever slid.
Next game: Syndergaard/Thor vs Jake Arrieta, 6:10 PM CT.