Finally free of the last of the anti-stat GMs, the Phillies set about to be the next big teardown and rebuild team. They had a promising season in 2016, as some of their young talent hit the bigs, and maybe things were starting to look 2014 Cubs-ish about them. In 2017, pretty much everyone not named Aaron Nola took a …
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 …
Series Preview: Chicago Cubs (59-54) at Arizona Diamondbacks (64-50)
I had been planning to take a long weekend and catch this series in Phoenix. Instead, I ended up shelling out hundreds of dollars to repair rodent damage to my car, and will be watching from home. I feel like I should present the repair bill to the cat. Team Leaders Cubs OBP: Kris Bryant (.390) ISO: Anthony Rizzo (.246) …
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 …
Cubs 2, Brewers 1 (11 innings)
OSS: Jason Heyward launches the game-winner in extras Three up: J-Hey hit a solo shot off of Jared Hughes in the 11th to put the Cubs ahead for good. He's had a pretty good series, hitting a homer in this game and robbing noted crybaby Ryan Braun of another in the first game. I wouldn't necessarily say Kyle Hendricks looked …
Cubs 6, Sox 3
OSS: Kyle Schwarber had a big day. Three up: ərber had eleven total bases on the day, courtesy of two home runs and a triple that just missed going over the fence. Aside from the fact that he was crushing it in general, it was great to see that two of those shots were to left field. He had been …