OSS: Cubs beat the Cardinals, a week too late Three up: Alec Mills had another solid fill in start, striking out nine in five innings and allowing just one run. He’s made the most of his time in the bigs this year, posting a 2.75 ERA across 36 innings, including five starts and pushing some folks to wonder if he …
Cubs 8, Reds 2
OSS: Cubs offense scores a disappointing eight runs, manage to win anyway. Three up: Kyle Schwarber got things rolling with a three run homer in the first off of Kevin Gausman, who is actually not as terrible as I remembered after looking at his career stats. War Bear leads the team with 37 home runs, though sadly not 37 in …
Cubs 16, Pirates 6 / Cubs 47, Pirates 15
OSS: Cubs offense obliterates the Pirates pitching staff, loses another key contributor. Three up: The Cubs finally found a lineup that works for them, and scored nearly fifty runs in a weekend sweep of the Pirates. Kris Bryant was the big hero in this one, homering twice in the Cubs rout. Tony Kemp, of all people, had the biggest hit …
Cubs 10, Brewers 5
OSS: Cubs blast their way past the Beers to start off their last series of the season Three up: Kyle Schwarber hit a grand slam in the sixth inning to put this game out of reach. Schwarber leads the team with 34 home runs, and has posted his best strikeout rate since becoming a regular. A lot of players contributed …
Cubs 4, Mets 1
OSS: The spirit of Ron Santo moves through Vic Caratini. Three up: The Mets saved the best starter for last in this series, only to see him get crushed by (checks notes) Vic Caratini? Caratini went deep twice against the reigning NL CYA winner. It’s not like deGrom has fallen off this year either – he’s right there with Scherzer …
Cubs 10, Mets 7
OSS: Cubs pummel Endgame-vintage Thor, hang on for a win. Three up: The Cubs offense put a hurting on Syndergaard in the first inning, sending eleven men to the plate and scoring six runs. Syndergaard had been on fire in the second half, but the Cubs offense was ready for his 99 mph heater. Happ, Castellanos, and Schwarber all homered …
Cubs 5, Mets 2
OSS: Cubs bats wake up on the road, for once. Three up: The Cubs bats actually came up with some big hits on the road, a rare occurrence these days. Javy Baez and Addison Russell both homered off of Marcus Stroman, who is a pretty dang good pitcher. The real MVP of this game, however, was Yu Darvish, who continued …
Cubs 1, Giants 0
OSS: Cyle outduels Shark on the way to a sweep. Three up: Kyle Hendricks was dominant in this one, striking out seven with no walks and three hits in seven shutout innings. Cyle’s changeup has always baffled hitters, but today it was his 86 mph cheese that was freezing guys. The dude can pitch. The rest of the bullpen was …
Cubs 12, Giants 11
OSS: Blow *ALL* the leads! Three up: Kris Bryant had the last big hit of the day, a two run shot in the eighth that put the Cubs ahead for the last time. That homer alone was worth nearly half a win in WPA. KB also singled as a part of the Cubs rally in the sixth inning. Nick Castellanos …
Cubs 2, Pirates 0
OSS: Cubs try to get blown out on the road again, but the Pirates just weren’t having it. Three up: Kris Bryant had the biggest hit of the day, a line drive homer in the seventh that finally broke the tie. Bryant also drew a walk and a HBP in this game. It is curious that both Bryant and Rizzo …