OSS: Dexter Fowler returns to Coors and makes a deposit.
Three Up
1. Dexter Fowler is officially a Cub now. With 2 out, 1 on, down 1, 0-2 count, Fowler laced a shot into the second level on the right field. Fowler finished the game 2-5 with the dinger, and finished the series with 12 total bases and 2 walks. Defensively, I can start to see some warts, but in Coors Field it’s really hard to to play center in any case.
2. Chris Coghlan doubled and walked twice. He has played very well this season; hopefully he can prove that last year wasn’t the fluke that the more pessimistic among us thought it was. He also had some adventures in the field today.
3. Motte stopped the bleeding in the 5th, and started off a streak of 4.2 scoreless relief innings that Rondon capped with a relatively nondescript save.
Three Down
1. Kyle Hendricks is a nibbler; he all know he’s a nibbler. It’s hard to nibble in Coors Field, and he more-or-less got rocked in his 4.1 innings. None of his pitches left the yard, but he was soundly beaten around and was on the losing end of seemingly every long plate appearance. The upside to this is that if you’re going to have a relatively bad start, at least it was in Coors and at least he kept it close.
2. Starlin’s 13-game hitting streak is at an end. It was fun while it lasted, and Starlin has been great with the bat for like 170 games now so cut him some slack.
3. Soler lined into a double play and killed a few rallies with his misplaced batted balls. He hasn’t looked all that great at the plate this season.
Next Game
Tomorrow, Home vs. Cincinnati, 8:05 PM CT (Leake vs. Lester)
Will the Cubs Win: Yes, though Billy Hamilton will take such a large lead that he’ll be closer to second than first.