OSS: Six RBI for Anthony Rizzo picks up a rough day for the pitching and defense.
Three up:
1. Anthony Rizzo had a .638 WPA and six RBI on the day, including a bases loaded double and a three run homer to put the Cubs ahead in the ninth. It’s nice to see him and Goldschmidt on the same field.
2. Jorge Soler had a solid day too, going 2-4 and tying up the game in the eighth with a laser beam double off the wall.
3. Props to the bullpen, who didn’t allow a single baserunner after Arrieta exited in the sixth. Considering that the previous day’s game went 13 innings, it looks even more impressive.
Three down:
1. Until Rizzo and Soler’s efforts to put the Cubs ahead in the late innings, the key play of the game was an error on Addison Russell in the fifth inning, which led to the Dbacks taking their mid-game lead. He’s still a little rocky out there at 2b but I’m not too worried.
2. The Cubs biggest negative WPA play of the day was a Junior Lake strikeout with runners on second and third in a tie game in the eighth inning. Tough to blame him though, Daniel Hudson is pretty good.
3. I had to watch the DBacks broadcast of this game, and it was kind of sadly hilarious. It felt like watching a telethon, they spent time nearly every inning imploring viewers to buy ticket packages. I also found their camera guys to be pretty creepy, though not in a Arne Harris kind of way. Lots of wandering through the stands and filming people without them realizing it. Somehow it doesn’t bother me as much when it’s a camera halfway across the stadium, but if it’s just some guy creeping around looking at scorebooks and stuff, I don’t know why it bugs me more, but it does. Also, there was Bob Brenly, so that goes without saying.