Did the Cubs Win?
(image c/o bleacher nation)
Chicago Cubes 0 @ Pittsburgh Pirates 1
One Sentence Synopsis: Cubes gonna Cube, Bonifacio going to TOOTBLAN, and Cubs go 0 for 11 with RISP.
Three Up
1. Jeff Samardzija was very good, going 7 scoreless frames. He walked 2 and allowed 5 hits, but only fanned 3. He was bailed out by a hot smash that was grabbed my Castro for a double-play, and also a baserunning gaffe by Starling Marte that allowed him to get doubled off easily. See, it happens to good teams too!
2. Emilio Bonifacio was picked off and forced out at home, but to get thrown out on the basepaths like a nincompoop, you first have to get ont he bases. They weren’t pretty hits (except the smash double), but Bonifiacio still provided 4 of the 6 Cubs hits.
3. Starlin Castro drew a walk, had relatively good at bats, and affected the game positively with his glove. His first AB was rough, but he hadn’t seen game action in quite some time. All in all, a very positive start.
Three Down
1. Carl Newhouse faced one batter in the 10th and promptly served him up a tater to walk the game off. It was an 8-pitch at-bat, so you can tip your cap to Neil Walker for keeping it alive, but when you don’t retire anyone and lose the game, it’s a pretty easy call.
2. Anthony Rizzo looked absolutely lost out there against Liriano. Liriano is absolute death to lefties, but Rizzo’s ABs were not competitve. I would have fared similarly against Francisco.
3. Mike Olt looked about as bad as Anthony did. Valbuena pinch-hit for him and drew a walk, and if yesterday is the first in a history of similar performances, Olt isn’t long for the starting position.
Next Game
Wednesday, 6:05 pm CST, Edwin Jackson vs. Charlie Morton