OSS: Death by a thousand singles (well, five) sinks the Cubs.
Three up
1. Jake Arrieta’s stuff looked great tonight, but the Reds got five singles in the fourth inning and that’s all they ended up needing.
2. Beef Castle had a pinch hit homer off of former Cubs closer Kevin Gregg in the eighth inning. I’m hoping the Padres pick up Carlos Marmol for the next series so the Cubs can continue this trend of beating up on their former closers.
3. Szczur came into the game in the eighth inning and made the most out of his two plate appearances, drawing walks from Gregg and Aroldis Chapman. Not a lot else going on for the Cubs in this game.
Three Down
1. Not a great day for Herrera at 3b, as two of those fourth inning singles were right under his glove. Tough to assign blame there though, not sure how ‘gettable’ those were for any 3b.
2. Normally I think managers are a too conservative with their bench in fear of extra innings, but I felt Maddon was a little too aggressive today. When Ross pinch hit in the ninth there were literally no other position players on the bench, and JD was joking that Travis Wood might have to suit up to play the field.
3. Milt Pappas in the booth before the stretch, good gods. My wife overheard his awkward, get-off-my-lawn-you-kids interview from the next room and wandered in to ask who the fuck this idiot was.
Next game: Jason Marquis vs Travis Wood, 7:05 PM CT
Will the Cubs win: I bet Sean Gallagher is available in case the Reds need someone to relieve Marquis.