OSS: Cubs wear down Syndergaard for the victory
Three up
1. Jake Arrieta had a fantastic day on the mound, going eight innings and giving the pen the rest it badly needed. He struck out ten and allowed only two walks, and if he had gotten a handle on the crazy movement on his pitches a little sooner he could have thrown a complete game.
2. Chris Coghlan finally broke his hard-hit ball bad luck with a two-run homer in the sixth that broke the game open for the Cubs. He’s been hitting into a lot of tough outs lately so it was great to see him get a hold of one.
3. Kris Bryant also had a great day at the plate, working a walk and three hits, including a booming HR to left for a little extra insurance late in the game.
Three one down
1. The Cubs had a hard time getting the first run across despite having plenty of guys on the basepaths. But as JD pointed out at some point later, the Cubs were 3-11 with RISP, which seems about right. It’s kinda hard. Soler had the biggest negative WPA play of the day when he lined out to RF with the bases loaded to end the third, and Montero struck out with guys on first and third in the fifth. But if you get the runners, something should eventually happen and it did.
Next game: Matt Harvey vs Jason Hammel, 7:10 PM CT