OSS: Cubs bury the Cardinals under a barrage of home runs. Three Four up: The Cubs came out swinging against Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright, scoring two runs on three doubles in the first inning. Wainwright was chased following a five run second inning capped off by a three run shot by Willson Contreras. The Cubs had five homers on the …
Cubs 4, Cardinals 3 (8.11.16)
OSS: Cubs walk off for ten in a row. Three up: The Cubs wasted a few chances early, and finally broke through against Carlos Martinez with a two run single by Chris Coghlan in the sixth inning. David Ross then dropped a surprise bunt to give the Cubs a temporary lead, an acceptable exception to #StopBunting. He also hit a …
Series Preview: St. Louis Cardinals (60-54) at Chicago Cubs (71-41)
It sure is nice having that twelve game cushion. The Cardinals have been flailing a bit lately, even losing a series at home to the Braves, but still have the third-best run differential in the NL. They’re down a couple of key contributers, including Michael Wacha, out with shoulder inflammation, Aledmys Diaz, out with a broken thumb, and Trevor Rosenthal, …
Cubs 5, Trouts 1 (8.9.16)
OSS: Eight innings from Lackey and a couple of home runs off of the Angels pitching machine extend the Cubs winning streak to eight games. Three up: John Lackey allowed just three hits in eight innings, striking out six for his best start in over a month. He even managed to shut down Mike Trout, striking him out once and …
Series Preview: Anaheim Mike Trouts of Disneyland (49-62) at Chicago Cubs (69-41)
The Cubs kick off a homestand with a two game set against the Mike Trouts of various geographical locations. The Cubs are riding a seven game winning streak, while the Angels were just swept by the Mariners. I was surprised to see that the Angels actually have run differential that is far, far better than their record would suggest (-4). …
Cubs 3, A’s 1 (8.7.16)
OSS: Cubs sweep their way to a nice win total. Three up: Kyle Hendricks keeps doing what he’s been doing, pitching into the eighth inning one start after he pitched a complete game shutout. his 2.17 ERA is second only to Clayton Kershaw, and might end up at number one if Kershaw misses enough time to fail to officially qualify …
Cubs 4, A’s 0 (8.6.16)
OSS: Jake Arrieta great again? Three up: Jake Arrieta shut out the A’s for eight innings, allowing just three hits while striking out four and walking one. He’s still not the JAKE of late last year, but it’s good to see him putting away a lineup that he should be putting away. His fastball command still looks kind of shaky …
Cubs 7, A’s 2 (8.5.16)
OSS: Cubs cruise to an easy win Three up: Despite having an epically crappy rehab stint in the minors, Jorge Soler hit a three run homer in his first PA back with the team. In true Soler style, the ball was hit about 5000 mph and went over the fence despite seeming to have a peak height of about 20 …
Series Preview: Chicago Cubs (66-41) at Oakland A’s (48-60)
What are these strange things called off….days? Several Cubs spent the day relaxing on their west coast travel day, and they even get one on the way back too. It certainly beats 3+ weeks with no breaks other than the Reds. West coast series suck all around, but at least only one game is a night game. Team Leaders Cubs …
Cubs 5, Marlins 4 (8.3.16)
OSS: Cubs win another weird one. Three up: Just looking over the WPA charts for this one is kind of strange. No Cubs position player had more than one hit, yet the Cubs had five different players on offense who posted a .100 WPA or greater, when usually you only see one or two, and two players who had hugely …