OSS: More of this, please. Three up: 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. Anthony Rizzo also blasted two home runs, bringing his season total up to 26. He's well on pace to …
Cubs 4, Brewers 2
OSS: Cubs take two of three on the road against their biggest playoff competition, and now lead by four games in the loss column. Three up: Ths Cubs scored their first two runs on a two-out rally in the sixth, keyed by a Willson Contreras infield single. As I was listening to it I was thinking that it felt like …
Cubs 2, Brewers 1 (11 innings)
OSS: Jason Heyward launches the game-winner in extras Three up: J-Hey hit a solo shot off of Jared Hughes in the 11th to put the Cubs ahead for good. He's had a pretty good series, hitting a homer in this game and robbing noted crybaby Ryan Braun of another in the first game. I wouldn't necessarily say Kyle Hendricks looked …
Cubs 6, Sox 3
OSS: Kyle Schwarber had a big day. Three up: ərber had eleven total bases on the day, courtesy of two home runs and a triple that just missed going over the fence. Aside from the fact that he was crushing it in general, it was great to see that two of those shots were to left field. He had been …
Cubs 8, Sox 3
OSS: Cubs bats get over their bizarre Big Game James issues, Arrieta has a solid performance, and the Cubs are back in first place. Three up: Jake looked pretty good tonight, and his final line was 6.2 IP, 2 H, 2R, 2 BB, 5 K. Obviously Jay Carrieta isn't walking through that door anymore, but this was a solid start. …
Cubs 3, Cardinals 2
OSS: An excellent pitchers' duel turns into a wild finish. Three up: Jon Lester was fantastic today, taking a perfect game into the sixth until Wainwright poked a single through the left side to break it up. He continued to cruise until he ran out of steam in the eighth, giving up back to back solo shots to Grichuk and …
Series Preview: St. Louis Cardinals (46-49) at Chicago Cubs (49-45)
If the 2016 Cubs truly are back, it's hard to think of a better litmus test than a home series against the Cardinals. Of course, the Cardinals have been disappointing relative to non-BP expectations as well this year. The main thing that has taken a step back is their offense, which trailed only the Cubs in wRC+ among NL teams …
Cubs 4, Braves 3 (7.17.17)
OSS: Cubs manage not to ruin a great start by Jon Lester. Three up: Lester was great tonight, which is especially nice to see after the play about pieces of feces that was his last start before the break. Lester gave up just three hits with one walk and six strikeouts in seven innings, and was cruising along well enough …
Cubs 9, O’s 8 (7.14.17)
OSS: Cubs blow an eight run lead, somehow win anyway Three up: Addison Muscle hit a go-ahead homer in the top of the ninth to put the Cubs over the top in this strange game. Russell led the Cubs in WPA on the day, largely due to that shot. It was one of five on the day by Cubs hitters, …
Where We Stand Now
I'm bringing back this feature from the olden days…if only because we need a new post. I'm stealing this format mostly from the 2015 version of this post, which credits shawndgoldman for the original regular feature. Record: 43-45, 5.5 games back of the Brewers and tied with the Cardinals for second place in this shitshow of a division. The actual …