OSS: Monty and the bullpen combine to one-hit the Rays. Three up: Mike Montgomery was great today after his brief bullpen test, allowing just a solo home run over six inning while striking out six and issuing zero walks. Edwards, Strop, and Davis shut the door over the final three innings, striking out five Rays and not allowing anyone to …
Cubs 8, Cardinals 2; Cubs 4, Cardinals 1; Cubs 4, Cardinals 3
OSS: Cubs sweep the Cardinals to six back. Three up Jason Heyward had a big day at the plate, going 3-4 and posting a .316 WPA, by far the most on the team. The biggest hit was a go-ahead, two out single in the seventh inning what proved to be the decider (not in a presidential sense). Jose Quintana had …
Brewers 2, Cubs 0; Brewers 15, Cubs 2; Brewers 3, Cubs 1
What's next: The Cubs have an off day, then play what's left of the Mets.
Cubs 17, Pirates 3
OSS: Cubs hit four homers and Javy steals home*. Three up: The Cubs blasted a bunch of homers to put this game out of reach, including two by Kyle Schwarber. But before then, they plated several runs on good baserunning. Javy Baez's steal of home, set up by a steal of second and a throwing error by Chris Stewart was …
Cubs 6, Jays 5 (10 innings)
OSS: Cubs out-weird the Jays in extras while blowing and retaking the lead. Three up: The tenth inning of this game had, between both teams, – An error on a routine throw back to the pitcher by Alex Avila – Three walks, one with the bases loaded – A run scored on a wild pitch – Not one but two …
Cubs 7, Jays 4
OSS: Holy shit, Javy Baez. Three up: Baez had a nice day at the plate, going 2-4 with three runs batted in, but the highlight of the game was this ridiculous snag in the ninth inning. My only complaint is that he somehow makes it look *too* easy (dying laughing). Arrieta had another solid outing, striking out six in 6.1 …
Cubs 15, Reds 5
OSS: We are back! (for the 19th time) Three up: The Cubs offense exploded for 15 runs against the Reds garbage fire of a pitching staff. Anthony Rizzo led the way with five RsBI, including back to back HRs with Kris Bryant in the fourth to put the game truly out of reach. He also got the scoring going in …
Cubs 4, Nats 9
OSS: Cubs bullpen in shambles (again) as Nats make late comeback Three up: Willson Contreras smacked two solo homers bringing his total to 21. His wOBA is up to .369. His ISO is 45 points better than last year. Jon Lester pitched a good game until running into trouble in the 7th. Prior to the 7th, Lester had 7 Ks through …
Cubs 16, Diamondbacks 4
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 …