Baseball

Is This Hope That I’m Feeling? – Cubs/Cardinals Series Review: Cubs SWEEP Series 7-5/7-2/2-0

By Summer Corson 1051

The good times certainly outweighed the bad if you were a Cubs fan this weekend. With Wrigley Field at 100% capacity and the fans going nuts, the Cubs seemed to get another rush of adrenaline that pushed them to winning an important series against the Cardinals. After Friday’s blip, where Kohl Stewart only went 4 innings, the Cubs starters were, dare I say it…good?

Both Kyle Hendricks and Zach Davies went 6+ innings this weekend, giving the bullpen a needed breather to keep from tiring out as this full-length season continues. More big games from the starters, and the Cubs, dare I say it, look dangerous? More important games are coming up, and soon, so we’ll have to see how this team fares.

June 11, 2021
Cubs 7, Cardinals 5
WP: Nance (1-0) LP: Cabrera (1-2)
Box Score

Let’s be honest: the game didn’t start the way any of us wanted to, with the Cubs pretty much always behind on the score, as Kohl Stewart made his second start as a Cub and almost immediately started giving up hits. In the 2nd inning, a walk and two singles were able to score the Cardinals’ first run of the game, and they added onto that in the 3rd when a walk and two more singles allowed another run to score.

It took around half the game for the Cubs’ offense to show up, but I’d take that over them never showing up at all. The Cubs started out with a solo home run by Joc Pederson in the 4th, and by the top of the 5th the Cardinals had scored another run before Stewart was pulled for Keegan Thompson. A single by Nolan Arenado was all the Cards needed to make the score 5-1 Cardinals, but amazingly the Cubs came roaring back at the bottom of the inning with three runs of their own. Although Contreras walked and Jason Heyward (finally) singled, it was Sergio Alcantara, the second baseman for today, who was the hero of the inning. His triple scored two runs, and after a kind of hilarious Yadier Molina throwing error, he was able to score to make it 5-4.

Though by this time the inning ended with the Cubs behind, it was Anthony Rizzo in the 6th who hit a solo bomb to tie the game, and in the 7th inning it was Heyward again with a leadoff single, Jake Marisnick with a single, and Joc Pederson again being the catalyst for some runs as he hit a double, scoring both men in front of him. The Cubs ended the game offensively for both sides through a solo homer by Contreras in the 8th.

Once Thompson stepped off the mound, the Cubs only allowed one hit and one walk and had five strikeouts. The Cardinals tried to make contact on Craig Kimbrel’s pitches in the 9th inning but kept getting pop-ups that were easy plays for guys like Baez. Even when the first batter hit a ground ball off Kimbrel’s pitch, it was Baez who made a crazy split-second play to Rizzo to get him out quickly. Good work was done by all.

June 12, 2021
Cubs 7, Cardinals 2
WP: Hendricks (8-4) LP: Gant (4-4)
Box Score

The Cubs have done it again. In front of a rip-roaring crowd, it only took two innings for them to blow this game wide open. Kyle Hendricks was able to pitch 6 innings, a rarity these days for a Cubs starter, and allowed the only two runs the Cardinals would get all game. Those runs were both homers and came off of only three hits he allowed; he also had two strikeouts on the day.

The Cubs, however, had three home runs this game. The first one opened up scoring in the 2nd inning by Ian Happ that scored Willson Conteras, who walked earlier. Four straight walks (and one Pederson flyout) later, and the Cubs were up 3-1. Javier Baez singled to make it 4-1, and Rizzo got hit by a pitch which made the game 5-1 Cubs.

The team never looked back, despite the Cardinals hitting another solo home run to start the 3rd inning. A single and a walk put Hendricks in the diciest situation of the day, but he was able to get out of it thanks to the defense behind him getting lineouts and forceouts. Alcantara homered in the bottom of the 3rd, once again showing Cubs fans that he is competent on both an offensive and defensive level, but what call-ups haven’t been like that so far this season?

Maybe it was Trevor Megill, who didn’t have a good outing after being recently called up, trading places with Kohl Stewart for a reliever position. Megill only lasted 0.2 innings in the 9th and gave up one of only two bullpen hits of the game for the Cubs. He allowed two walks, loading the bases. The Cubs, not wanting to extend this game any longer than necessary, just decided to yank him and put in Craig Kimbrel, who was able to get the final out of the game.

June 13, 2021
Cubs 2, Cardinals 0
WP: Davies (4-3) LP: Martinez (3-7)
Box Score

The Cubs continue to dazzle, including on the starting pitching front, as Zach Davies went 6.2 innings of baseball where he gave up only 2 hits and 2 walks. Can I believe I’m writing these words? Not exactly, but I’ll take all the good that I can get for this team.

The Wrigley Field crowd cheered the whole way through (and made a very impressive beer snake in the bleachers) as the Cubs scored twice in the 3rd inning to go up on the Cards. It started out with Eric Sogard — yes, once again I’m amazed — hitting a double to start out the inning. He scored on a fielding error just two batters later, as Pederson was able to reach first. Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo then drew back-to-back singles to make it 2-0 Cubs.

Baez was not playing today after likely reinjuring his thumb after running to catch a ball in left field during yesterday’s game. Sergio Alcantara once again filled in for him at short, making all the big plays at shortstop that were needed, occasionally in an impressive Baez-like manner. More please.

After Davies looked shaky to start the 7th inning in a two-out situation, Rossy decided it was time for the bullpen. Ryan Tepera finished out the inning, getting the forceout to strand a few Cardinals on base. He might’ve gone three-up, three-down in the 8th inning if not for an overthrow to first base by Patrick Wisdom. And Craig Kimbrel? Well, we’re all just glad to be watching his hall-of-fame career.

—

The Cubs immediately turn around to face the Mets this week in New York. The Mets stand at the top of the NL East, and with a 3-game margin. They have played less games than the Cubs have, but are still similarly matched in points percentage, .561 for them vs. .578 for us. The Cubs have quickly and shockingly turned their entire season around, and if they win some games against New York this week, that’s right folks — we will be buyers at the deadline. You won’t have to see Kris Bryant leave until the winter.

Knock on wood, of course.

Baseball

Series Recap: Sox Sweep Tigers – The Beatings Shall Continue Until Morale Improves

By Andy Jonathan 983

BOX SCORES

Game 1: White Sox 5 – Tigers 4

Game 2: White Sox 15 – Tigers 2

Game 3: White Sox 4 – Tigers 1

 

At this point, there’s not much that can be said about this Sox team when they’re taking on a sub-.500 squad other than that they’re completely merciless. Despite losing yet ANOTHER key piece of the rebuild to an exploded hamstring with Nicky 2-Strikes going down in the previous series, the Sox didn’t miss a beat this weekend in Detroit. Even Friday night where it looked like the bullpen was going to implode after an excellent start by Lucas Giolito, the offense was there to pick up the slack in extra innings.

In the second game, the Sox scored some runs, and then some more, and even more after that, raining blows down upon a Tigers team that had clearly hung the “Not Interested” sign in the bullpen window. They became so disinterested, they trotted out two different position players to pitch, which I’m sure breaks some unwritten rule somewhere, but whatever. The most impressive bit about this Sox win was the fact that out of the 15 runs, only 1 came on a dinger.

On Sunday Hard Carl had a shot at his 2nd no hitter of the season, taking it into the 7th inning before finally giving up a double to Eric Haase with 1 out. Even this was not without shenanigans, as Rodon threw a NASTY slider in a 2-2 count to Haase that clearly caught a chunk of the zone but he didn’t get the call from home plate umpire Pat Hoberg (who otherwise had an excellent day behind the plate).

All told, the Sox now sit at a tasty 41-24 record with a hilariously high +106 run differential (!). While everything is not perfect and the schedule takes a decidedly angry turn in the next week it’s hard to be anything but excited about where this team is right now.

TO THE BULLETS!

 

NUMBERS DON’T LIE

GAME 1

-Let’s get this out of the way at the start: There is absolutely no fucking reason the idiotic umpiring crew should have started the bottom of the 9th inning on Friday night. It was absolutely pouring, and while Liam Hendriks probably didn’t need to flip out the way he did, I don’t blame him in the slightest. I don’t completely blame him for the blown save either, as getting re-pumped up is almost impossible after taking the mound and then having to wind down. Robot Umps ASAP.

-The top 1/3rd of the batting order had a rough night, going a combined 0-11 with 2 walks and one sac fly by Moncada. They were able to get on base a few times via the walk, but none of them came around to score. I don’t hate trying Yermin in the 2 hole, despite the net negative result, trying anything to spark him back up is all right in my book.

-Lucas Giolito had some issues with the long ball again, giving up two solo shots to bring his total over his last 3 starts to 6. When you live in the upper portion of the zone like Lucas does, any mistakes are magnified and usually end up in the cheap seats. Despite that, he’s also undefeated since May 14th, so it’s obviously not the end of the world.

-Adam Engel had another home run? I do declare!

-Garret Crochet had the leash taken off in this one, going 2 whole innings giving up a measly one walk paired with 3 Ks. It’s hard to tell what his future holds, whether it’s in the pen or as a starter, but either way he’s been dominant lately and one of the few trusty weapons out of the pen.

GAME 2

-Dylan Cease is now 8-0 against Detroit in his career, and the 8th win wasn’t ever remotely close. He was staked to a 3 run lead before he even took the mound, and despite making a 2 strike mistake to Harold Castro in the bottom of the inning he never really looked out of sorts en route to 5 strong innings.

-Brian Goodwin, welcome to the White Sox! The free agent acquisition signed by Rick Hahn shortly after all of Luis Robert’s hip muscles went TWANG made his debut in a big way, knocking in 5 of the Sox 15 runs in the first 2 innings with a 2 run double in the first, and a 3 run laser over the RF fence in the 2nd. While this is a nice start, I’m gonna need to see a bit more before I declare the OF issues solved.

-Yermin managed 2 hits and 3 RBI in the game, and while neither of them were nuked off the bat, beggars can’t be choosers at this point. Yermin went from hitting in the 2 hole in game one down to his customary 5 spot. Maybe move him down to 7 next? Whatever it takes.

-Matt Foster contributed 2 innings, and while he walked 2 in this go around he also struck out 3. Baby Steps.

-Beau Burrows puked all over the mound in the 5th inning and no, this is not a metaphor for the Tigers bullpen (though it would absolutely work that way). Feel better, kid.

Game 3

-Hard Carl made his reappearance today, with an absolutely devastating slider and a fastball that was touching 100 mph in the 4th inning. As mentioned above, he carried a No-No into the 7th inning until it was farted away by one bad call behind the plate. All told, he went 7 immensely strong innings, striking out 9 and walking 2. He’ll have his work cut out for him in his next start against the Astros next Friday, but if his slider is working this well it may not make a difference.

-Jose Abreu, after sitting out the offensive explosion on Saturday, came out swinging on Sunday. He went 3 for 5 with 2 doubles, and RBI and a run scored. More importantly he looked as locked in as I’ve seen him in some time, as he was all over the off-speed stuff the Tigers tossed his way. The Sox are going to need to lean on their captain even more from here on out, and I’d be more than willing to bet he’ll be up to the challenge.

-Evan Marshall had a return to form in the 8th inning, looking very strong with his change dancing all around the zone. He’s another one the Sox will need here on out, especially with no set return in sight for Michael Kopech.

-Liam Hendriks mowed down the Tigers in the 9th without any difficulty for his 17th save of the season. Not much to say other than “FUUUUUUUUCK” really loudly.

 

Next up is a 3 game set with the AL East-leading Tampa Bay Rays coming to town. If the rotations hold up, the Sox will be facing the heart of the Ray’s staff starting with the marquee matchup of Tyler Glasnow against Lance Lynn on Monday night. We’ve seen the Sox have no issue beating the dregs of the AL, now they get a chance to show everyone if they truly belong in the elite tier. Two out of three would go a long way towards that, so get it done.

Let’s Go Sox!

Baseball

Which One Of My Garbage Sons Are You? – Sox Take Series Against Jays (6-1, 2-6, 5-2)

By Matt McClure 969

Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score
Game 3 Box Score

 

In case it wasn’t made clear by the 7000 times Jason Benetti waxed poetically about how fun it would be for these two teams to meet in the post-season, the Sox and Jays put on quite a series at 35th & Shields over the past few days with the Sox winning two of three, though not without further injury cost. Both of these teams boast some outstanding young hitters, and also a healthy collection of beefy boys on each roster, and all of it was on full display. Though where the Sox were able to separate themselves over the course of three games was most notably the pitching from both the bullpen and the starters was able to outlast the Jays hitters and give the Sox bats enough time in games 1 and 3 to get to the soft underbelly of the Jays’ pen.

Game 1

An early game of the year candidate against Robbie Ray’s pronounced ass crack and Monica-Seles-level grunts, counterpart Carlos Rodon didn’t have the stuff that has become the standard for him through the first part of this season, and seemingly started every inning with a runner on 2nd base. But HARD CARL was able to sweatily wriggle out of almost all of it through the course if his five twitchy innings, and the Notorious TLR had his best game of the season pulling all of the right levers building a bridge to Hendriks in the 9th through Ruiz, Marshall, and Crochet, the pitcher of record. The pen only allowed two hits in their 12 outs of work, and kept the powerful bats of the Jays at bay, and Evan Marshall in particular had a key strikeout of the absolutely terrifying Vlad Guerrero Jr to end the 7th.

At the plate Andrew Vaughn was the star of the evening, finally denting Ray with a solo shot, and then nearly put the game out of reach on his own with a deep bases loaded sacrifice fly. A two run triple from Leury Garcia added some insurance, and it would be more than the back end of the bullpen would need.

Game 2

On Wednesday night Lance Lynn, or as Ozzie calls him “LASS LEEN”, gave his customary efficient 7 innings of his wide variety of different fastballs that kept all but Randal Grichuk off balance, whose solo homer tied the game after the Sox grabbed one in the first on a Yoan RBI single. As a mirror image of the night previous, everything went to hell in soft fashion against Aaron Bummer in the 8th who managed to only get one official out, with a key dropped third strike where rookie Riley Adams was able take first base to keep their rally going. A walk to Vladito and his extremely rude cheeks brought in tying run, and the Jays kept the line moving after that.

More discouraging however, is the fact that Nick Madrigal tore his hamstring while sprinting down to first base on a grounder. Nicky Versteeg has been infuriating at times with his asinine baserunning decisions and occasional stonehandedness in the field, but no one can deny that his bat-to-ball skill has been a definitely plus for this team in keeping innings alive, especially in the era of gunked up balls flying in at a zillion miles an hour specifically designed to miss bats. It appears Dancin’ Danny Mendick will get first crack at the job in Madrigal’s protracted absence, but this might just be one injury too many and Rick Hahn might finally have to find a solution for this season outside the organ-I-zation. But at least Jose Abreu survived having a bat thrown at him by the home plate umpire.

Game 3

In the rubber match last night, the Sox figured out very early on to take lefty Hyun Jin Ryu oppo from the right batter’s box, as he primarly works away and with off speed stuff. Abreu sliced a double into the right field corner to bring home Yermin who had doubled himself just before, and then the extremely fucking moist Yasmani Grandal reached out and sent one over the right field wall. That three run lead would be more than enough for Dallas Keuchel to work with, as he looked vintage in his quick work and accuracy at the edge of the zone, no doubt helped by some Grandal framework. The Jays would get to within one with RBI singles in the 5th and 6th, but Adam Engel connected for his first hit of the season with an insurance dong to left center, and Abreu would double home TA in the 9th for good measure ahead of another Hendriks save.

Up next for the Southside Nine will be a trip to Detroit where they’ll need to sock away some wins over the weekend before a week straight against some sterner stuff in the Tampa Bay Rays (who sadly will not be wearing their neon ass throwbacks here), and then on to Houston after that. That should be a pretty good indication of just how much help they’re going to need.

Baseball

Déjà Yu? – Cubs/Padres Series Review: Cubs Win Series 4-9/7-1/3-1

By Summer Corson 965

It probably helped that Fernando Tatis Jr. went 1-for-12 at the plate for the span of this series, but the Cubs were able end this first of two west coast road trips on a higher note than how they started. After getting the doors blown off of them in the first game thanks to not being able to outhit their pitching woes, the Cubs were able to beat on the Padres this week, holding them to only one run in the final two games of the series.

More importantly and amazingly, they were doing this without some of their best players—most notably absent this series was Javier Baez, who was on a roll offensively in the last Padres series. Jason Heyward has had no hits since returning, and the Cubs are still without Nico Hoerner, as well as David Bote, if that still matters to any of you. And the injuries keep on coming, as it was announced Adbert Alzolay would be added to the 10-day IL after an ugly start to this series.

Despite these obstacles, the Cubs came through offensively and were able to hold it together defensively to get the job done, even getting the win over Yu Darvish, who for all intents and purposes should still be pitching on this team. As we like to say here, the indignities never cease. Let’s break these games down.

June 7, 2021
Cubs 4, Padres 9
WP: Weathers (3-2) LP: Alzolay (4-5)
Box Score

Considering the Giants series we just came from, who could’ve guessed the Cubs’ starting pitcher would collapse in a game again? Alzolay allowed the Padres to get up early in this one, allowing two Padres runs in the first two innings of the game and having to throw over 50 pitches to get to the 3rd. By the 3rd inning, he had struck out Fernando Tatis Jr. for the second time of the night, along with Eric Hosmer, but a walk and a home run right afterward put the Cubs in a pretty dicey 4-0 hole.

After only two singles in the first three innings, the Cubs’ bats woke up just in time for a rally to make the game a one-run contest. Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo singled, and Patrick Wisdom walked to load the bases. Jake Marisnick, back in the lineup playing his first game in almost a month, hit a single that scored Bryant and Rizzo to make it 4-2. Ian Happ decided to come up and bunt for some reason, getting out at first but advancing the runners. Sergio Alcantara, the knockoff Baez replacement whenever he is needed, was able to RBI Wisdom on a sac fly, and then it was 4-3 Cubs.

Alzolay then proceeded to put up a four-pitch walk to start the 4th inning and Rossy yanked him. Alzolay was not happy with his performance, throwing his glove in the dugout and looking pretty pissed. Soon after the game it was announced he’d be put on the 10-day IL for a blistered finger. It was a tough outing for the young pitcher who is currently the only bright spot in the Cubs’ rotation that exists at all, but he’s gotta be better than tonight if the Cubs have a chance at the division or the playoffs.

The Dodgers scored two runs in the 6th and piled on three more in the 8th inning, allowing them to run away with the game. Rex Brothers, in to relieve for Alzolay, allowed no hits in his inning out, but Keegan Thompson allowed a hit that scored the runs in the 6th inning and Cory Abbott’s 1.1 innings at the end of the game allowed four hits and three runs, only one of them earned. The Cubs scored a measly run in the 7th inning thanks to a solo homer by Ian Happ, but other than that the Padres were able to successfully come out on top this game.

June 8, 2021
Cubs 7, Padres 1
WP: Davies (3-3) LP: Lamet (1-1)
Box Score

For once during his tenure with the Cubs, Zach Davies didn’t look half bad on the mound as he faced his team of yore. Despite this, the Padres’ starter in Dinelson Lamet was pitching well also, and we went the first three innings with no score. However, Lamet collapsed to start the 6th inning, giving up two singles and a double to score Joc Pederson and Kris Bryant, added onto the solo homer he gave up to Willson Contreras in the 4th. His reliever could only get the first out of the inning before allowing Patrick Wisdom’s 8TH DINGER IN 15 GAMES to blow the game wide open, 5-0 Cubs.

Certainly Zach Davies is no Yu Darvish, and I don’t think anyone else complains about that more than I do. However, Davies pitched a full 6 innings, allowed only one hit, walked only two batters and had 4 strikeouts. It was the lowest number of hits he’s allowed in a game all season, and by many numbers it was the best game he’s played generally since his season debut on April 4. Credit where credit’s due here.

The Cubs were able to score two more runs in the 7th inning to make the game really over, and thanks to our trusty bullpen the Padres never really got back in the game offensively. Andrew Chafin, Tommy Nance, and Alec Mills all pitched one inning each. Chafin had a strikeout and only allowed one hit, while Nance had two strikeouts and no hits at all. Alec Mills, making his first appearance on the mound for the Cubs in nearly a month, allowed the only Padres run of the game after walking two batters and letting Ha-Seong Kim hit a double. However, two strikeouts later he was able to end the game for the Cubs.

June 9, 2021
Cubs 3, Padres 1
WP: Brothers (2-0) LP: Darvish (6-2)
Box Score

The Cubs are finally looking back to their winning form, able to win the series against the Padres despite having to face old demons and current elite pitching by Yu Darvish. It was Jake Arrieta who was up to the task of battling against him, and this game was a pitcher’s duel all the way until essentially the 7th inning, where the Cubs took the lead on an RBI double play by Rizzo. The other two runs were scored by solo homers for the Cubs, with Joc Pederson doing it in the 4th inning and Sergio Alcantara doing it in the 8th inning.

Like I said, it was a pitcher’s duel, and though Yu Darvish played the longer game, he was the one with the loss. Veteran Jake Arrieta only pitched five innings compared to Darvish’s seven, but he allowed only one run to Darvish’s two runs despite Arrieta allowing one more hit. The Cubs bullpen, and I know I sound like a broken record, got it done. Rex Brothers got the win with two strikeouts in his inning in the 6th. Tepera and Kimbrel also allowed no hits, despite Kimbrel having 0 strikeouts to close the game — very uncharacteristic of him.

The Cubs were intentionally sitting some important players this game in order to give them two days off before a big series this weekend against the Cardinals. In doing so, some younger players in the pipeline were able to show their skills, and Alcantara was certainly one of them again today with his important run and keeping things together at shortstop as Javier Baez took this series off. Additionally, we saw PJ Higgins catching for Willson Contreras and Rafael Ortega in for a stint. Props to these guys for sliding in and not being horrific — hell, even contributing at times.

—

Like I said, the Cubs have a day off tomorrow and then they come back to Wrigley where they will face off against the Cardinals for the first series at 100% fan capacity. The Cardinals have dropped a bit in the standings since we last played them, being 3.5 wins back of the Cubs and first place. Don’t look now, but the Cubs and the Brewers are neck and neck at the top of the Central Division, so any wins we can get against the Cardinals will be important, especially since the Brewers get the much easier matchup this weekend against the Pirates. Go Cubs go!

Baseball

Falling Back to Planet Earth – Cubs/Giants Series Review: Cubs Lose Series 2-7/5-8/3-4/4-3

By Summer Corson 753

The good times can never last long for this Cubs team, and after watching this series against the Giants, who are as of today the best team in the MLB, one thing is for certain: we need a starting pitcher to make that jump up to be in the elite group of the best teams in the league. And if I recall correctly WE HAD ONE. So thanks, Ricketts family.

Another series starts tonight so let’s get this review of mostly terrible games over with.

June 3, 2021
Cubs 2, Giants 7
WP: DeSciafani (5-2) LP: Davies (2-3)
Box Score

The win streak can’t go on forever, and the Cubs reminded us of that. Our bats got stymied, only getting five hits all game. The two runs we garnered were in the 3rd inning to take the lead and it was on a 2-run homer by Joc Pederson.

Just an inning later in the 4th, the Giants tied it up, and the inning after that consisted of Zach Davies getting pulled after allowing two singles and a walk in a one out situation. The highlight of my boyfriend’s night was listening to me say “he’d have to hit a 3-run homer here to blow the game open and he won’t” while listening to the game on the radio and then five seconds later Brandon Crawford hitting a 3-run homer there to blow the game open.

The Cubs wouldn’t come back, and there were plenty of fielding errors and poor pitching for everyone involved that the game was over by the end of the 5th inning. Zach Davies still sucks, if you’re wondering, playing only 4.1 innings and allowing 8 hits and 4 runs. The bullpen was also uncharacteristically bad, allowing three runs and two walks. Brad Wieck pitched the 8th, however, and allowed no hits and had a strikeout.

June 4, 2021
Cubs 5, Giants 8
WP: Menez (1-0) LP: Arrieta (5-6)
Box Score

At first it seemed like things would be better this game, especially when you start things off with a two-run homer by Kris Bryant. However, Jake Arrieta did the equivalent of spitting up all over himself in the 2nd inning, allowing—count ‘em—6 total runs in those two innings. He ended his outing at the end of the 2nd inning after throwing 58 pitches. It was obvious Rossy really didn’t want to pull him early; multiple mound visits were made to try to slow things down, but it didn’t matter because he just kept getting hit off of. After a 2-out, full-count situation, the Giants put the nails in our metaphorical coffin with a three-run home run to make it 6-2 San Francisco. The Cubs would never get the lead back. It came out after the game that Arrieta had food poisoning before his start and that’s why he did so poorly. Again, if we had a solid starting pitcher, this wouldn’t have been as big a problem as it was.

Then it was Keegan Thompson’s time to shine. Things couldn’t get any worse, right? He allowed two hits and two runs in his two innings out. He walked two batters, but he also struck out five. During this time, the Cubs tried to make it close by scoring two runs in the top of the 4th, thanks to a walk by Patrick Wisdom who was batted in by a Joc Pederson home run. However, in the bottom of the inning, Thompson gave up back-to-back home runs and a walk before he was able to strike out three batters in a row to end the inning.

The Cubs were able to score one more run in the game in the 5th inning, after a Giants throwing error allowed Willson Contreras to advance to 3rd base and Javier Baez batted him in while grounding out himself. Winkler, Wieck, Nance and Maples all pitched one respective inning out of the bullpen, and they allowed two total hits between them, two walks, and three strikeouts.

Because the fun can never end, there was also an argument caught on camera between Anthony Rizzo and Willson Contreras in the dugout of this game. I feel like everyone has talked this story to death, so I’ll skip over it for the most part. I’d be pissed off too if I was losing big games like this in this capacity.

June 5, 2021
Cubs 3, Giants 4
WP: Gausman (7-0) LP: Stewart (1-1)
Box Score

Things continued to be more of the same for the Cubs again this series, as they were the ones to go ahead early in the game, this time through a home run by Patrick Wisdom, before pretty promptly coughing it up thanks to the starting pitching. This time it was Kohl Stewart starting because why not at this point? How much worse could he be than the rest of the rotation? He only went 3.2 innings while giving up 7 hits and 3 runs. After allowing a solo home run in the 3rd, he allowed a walk, two singles, a sacrifice bunt and another single in the 4th inning to let the Giants take the lead 3-2, which they once again would never surrender to the Cubs. He was replaced by Tommy Nance in that inning, who was able to get out of it without another Giants hit.

The rest of the bullpen did well, with Winkler allowing the only other run of the game; it was a double that scored a batter who walked earlier in the inning. The fun news out of the bullpen today was that we saw a NEW PITCHER CALLUP in Cory Abbott, who pitched two innings and didn’t look half bad. He only allowed one hit and one walk in his time up, and he even struck out a batter. Tepera closed things out, allowing no hits.

Obviously, the damage had already been done. The Cubs tried their best to rally in the 9th inning, where Rizzo was able to capitalize on a Giants fielding error to allow Bryant, who was able to stay on base after a challenge, to score. Baez had also singled, and with two outs Baez and Rizzo both stole bases to get into scoring position. But Jason Heyward, finally activated after his injury and playing today, unfortunately grounded out to end the game.

June 6, 2021
Cubs 4, Giants 3
WP: Hendricks (7-4) LP: Cueto (4-2)
Box Score

The Cubs at least were able to win one, coming from behind to win a close game, but it looked a bit dicey at first. Kyle Hendricks gave up a solo homer in the 1st inning, and then allowed a single, a walk, and another single to allow the Giants to go up 2-0.

Patrick Wisdom was the offensive hero tonight, as he launched yet another homer in the 2nd inning to put the Cubs within one. However, the bottom of the inning saw Hendricks give up two doubles to give the Giants a 3-1 lead. Ian Happ and catcher PJ Higgins were able to make a huge throw to home plate afterward, however, to get the tag at home and end the inning with minimal offensive damage.

Patrick Wisdom homered, again, in the 4th inning and scored Happ, who doubled earlier. But the 5th inning was when the Cubs really became the Cubs. Kyle Hendricks hit a double, which was truly astonishing, and then Rizzo singled and Baez reached first base on a fielder’s choice, scoring Hendricks to make it 4-3 Cubs.

Additionally, Hendricks lasted 6.1 innings on the mound, allowing 7 hits and 5 strikeouts. 6.1 innings out of a Cubs starter is rare these days, and the defense was obviously solid behind him. The bullpen was back to being nails, allowing only 2 hits in 2.2 innings. Kimbrel came in to get the save — with two strikeouts, of course.

—

The Cubs certainly didn’t look as sharp for this series as they had in series past, but hopefully today’s win will allow them to turn things around as they go back to face the Padres again this week, this time in San Diego. The Padres just split a series with the Mets but got walloped yesterday 6-2. They are also still sporting a 14-player injured list, making their lineup about as easy as it gets for the Cubs to play against.

It should be noted the Cubs are a bit injured too, as Joc Pederson got hurt again this series, Baez exited last night’s game with thumb soreness and may or may not be in the game, Marisnick and Hoerner are still out with hamstring injuries, David Bote’s still out, and Trevor Williams is still recovering from his appendectomy, although the rotation wouldn’t be much better if he was still on it. The Padres, however, don’t have SECRET WEAPON NL PLAYER OF THE WEEK Patrick Wisdom, so they should fear us. All jokes aside, we should absolutely be riding Wisdom as the hot hand until his numbers come back to earth along with the rest of this team. Go Cubs go!

Baseball

Series Recap: Sox Take 3 of 4 From Tigers – Frogsplashed

By Andy Jonathan 1039

BOX SCORES

Game 1: Tigers 1 – White Sox 4

Game 2: Tigers 8 – White Sox 9

Game 3: Tigers 4 – White Sox 3

Game 4: Tigers 0  – White Sox 3 

 

Three out of four has to be considered a complete success for the Sox, especially when you include the fact that Baltimore just took 2 of 3 from Cleveland. The Orioles pummeled the Indians pitching, dropping 25 runs on them in 3 games as the Tribe has now lost 5 of their last 10, stretching the Sox lead over them to a season high 4 games.

The door is open for the Sox to run away with the division, and this series was a solid intro to that. The starters had an excellent weekend, where even the lone loser in Giolito still went 7 innings and struck out 9. The Sox hitters took advantage of every mistake the Tigers D made, and the new unis even gave TLR some sick drip. Solid work all around.

In an added bonus, the Twins tailspin continues to be one of the best storylines of the season, as even Ozzie Guillen started in on them during the pregame show on Sunday. It’s glorious, and you can hook every Minnesota loss directly into my veins. Anyway, back to talking about a good team that’s well above .500

 

TO THE BULLETS!

 

Numbers Don’t Lie

Game 1

-Lance Lynn has been as advertised so far this season. How good has he been? Well the one run he allowed in this game actually raised his ERA. He went a strong 6 innings in a mere 89 pitches while striking out 6 Tigers en route to his team-leading 7th win of the season. There isn’t much more you can say about his performance so far, other than it’s been exactly what we all hoped for.

-The Sox hitters smoked 4 solo home runs in this game (Moncada, Grandal, Anderson and Jake the Snake Lamb), providing all the offense that Lynn would need. Seeing Grandal and Moncada go yard in particular warms my cold, dark heart. Grandal seems to finally be rounding into form after dealing with a bum knee all throughout spring training. His dinger went almost 460 feet with an exit velo of 110 mph. Very nice.

-Home plate umpire Will Little had himself a shitty game Thursday night, which ultimately led to Lucas Giolito being tossed after jawing at his terrible strike zone from the dugout. Apparently Little told Gio to go look at the zone himself, which he did, and returned to tell Little that upon further review it still fucking sucked.

-After Gio got tossed, LaRussa managed to piss everyone off AGAIN with his terrible postgame comments. I sorta get where he was going with this, but I would’ve much rather him said something along the lines of “I appreciate his passion in sticking up for his teammates” instead of what he actually said:

-Evan Marshall, Aaron Bummer and Liam Hendriks combined for 3 innings of 1 hit ball in a preview of what we all thought the bullpen was going to be like at the beginning of the year. Sadly, it didn’t last too long.

Game 2

-This game started out pretty ooky for the Sox, as Spencer Turnbull came out firing bullets for the first 5 innings, only making one mistake to Yasmani Grandal that he smoked into the seats for a dinger. Otherwise he was fairly unhittable until the 5th, where something in his elbow went TWANG and he was forced out of the game. It was then that the wheels fell off for the Tigers D, allowing 5 runs in the 5th, only 2 of which were earned. The Sox took advantage, however, and jumped out to a 7-2 lead.

-That lead didn’t last, as mentioned above Codi Heuer and Evan Marshall absolutely did not have their A, B, C or D stuff that night. Heuer walked 2 and gave up a hit, all of which came around to score when Marshall relieved him and promptly gave up 2 home runs that gave the Tigers the lead. Both guys had been pitching fairly stellar of late, so I’m inclined to call this more of a hiccup than a trend.

-Grandal was able to tie the game in the 8th with his 2nd home run of the night and 3rd of the series with an opposite field pop off of Rony Garcia. The eyeballs on this guy were never in doubt, but the power behind the swing now is something else.

-A struggling Yermin Mercedes was able to walk the game off in the 9th after Jose Cisneros walked Yoan Moncada and Jose Abreu smoked a single, sending Yoan to 3rd. Yermin immediately went into 2 strike mode and fought off an inside slider into short left field for the winner. Fingers crossed this is just what he needs to get going here on out.

Game 3 

-On a hot, windy day at the Down Arrow, Lucas Giolito only made 3 bad pitches. Unfortunately for him, all 3 of them ended up in the OF seats, giving the Tigers all the offense that they’d need to win the game. He still went 7 innings, striking out 9 and probably deserved a better fate than the L, but such is baseball.

-Tarik Skubal looked the best he had the entire season, as you could see why the Tigers took him in the 2018 draft. He kept the Sox hitters completely off balance, striking out 11 in 5 innings. His slider had nasty cut to it, and the movement on his 4 seam fastball was pretty damn impressive. Thankfully, with him striking out so many Sox he was pulled after 5 innings and 103 pitches.

-The Sox jumped all over his replacement Derek Holland, with 3 hits (including a 2-run double by Jake the Snake) and a walk. Sadly, this is where things got stupid. LaRussa decided he wanted to fire up the Old Timey Managin’ Machine, and had Danny Mendick try and bunt the tying and winning runs over to 2nd and 3rd. In a galaxy brain move, Mendick decided he would bunt the ball down the 1st base line, where Jonathan Schoop was able to field it and fire the ball over to 3rd for the force out. Giving away outs to a guy who has never been able to get them against the Sox on his own is just fucking dumb, and I doubt this is the last time we will talk about it. Sadly.

-After the fucked up 6th inning, the Sox were only able to muster 1 more hit the rest of the game so they didn’t exactly cover themselves in glory. Jose Abreu had multiple chances to smoke fastballs sitting middle middle and was late on them. His day off Sunday was not really a shock.

Game 4

-Facing the team he’s dominated more than any other, Dylan Cease returned to form by pitching a VERY strong 7 innings and striking out 10 and only walking 1. His curveball looked simply unhittable, dropping right off the table and making Tigers hitters flail around at the ball. I get that it’s just the Tigers, but there was a lot to like about this start. His next one should bring a much stiffer test in the Tampa Bay Rays, and I’m very excited to see how he handles their very patient hitters.

-All the Sox offense happened in the top of the 2nd, with Adam Eaton tripling into the corner to start things off. Andrew Vaughn smoked a single into left to drive him in, then moving to 3rd on a Nick Madrigal double in the gap. Timmy brought both them in with a bloop single to center, and with that the offense was done for the day. Good enough, indeed.

-Aaron Bummer looked sharp taking over for Dylan Cease in the 8th, striking out 2 and generating a weak ground for the other out. More please.

-Liam Hendriks faced little opposition in the 9th, going 1-2-3 with 2 strikeouts. He’s locked in right now, with the only downside being with more people in the stands I can’t hear him scream FUCK anymore.

-The win today moved Tony LaRussa into 2nd place all time for wins in the league. I give TLR a lot of shit because he’s an out of touch crank who doesn’t support his players in the media, but this is a cool milestone for him and the league and in this moment, I have to give him his due. Congrats to him.

 

Next up is a series against the offensive Death Star known as the Toronto Blue Jays. They lead the league in OPS, and their bullpen is what we thought the Sox one would be, and that’s with them losing their closer (Kirby Yates) to TJ surgery before spring training ended. With the Sox merely .500 against winning teams, this coming week will be a solid yardage marker to see where they truly stand among the AL Elite. Get it done.

Everything Else

LOOK WHO’S BACK – Cubs/Padres Series Review: Cubs SWEEP Padres 7-2/4-3/6-1

By Summer Corson 1059

Yes, the Padres are even more injured than the Cubs are. And they were without Fernando Tatis Jr. in the lineup today. But don’t allow those factors to demolish the good times that were had this week at Wrigley as the Cubs were able to sweep their series against the 1st-place Padres.

Things were looking just fine for the Cubs after the first game, stomping the Padres with half an infield of “who?”s, but that’s just who the Cubs have been for most of the season. Then Anthony Rizzo came back for games two and three, collecting himself five hits and two RBIs on his time out. His .832 OPS at the end of game three was second on the team only to Patrick Wisdom, who has a ridiculous 1.458 OPS after hitting three home runs this series. Who the hell is this guy? More please?

Fielding errors and home runs galore made this series an exciting one to the very end as a Cubs fan, and it came without having to watch Yu Darvish pitch against us so we don’t have to feel that pain. (I’m sure we’ll see him next week, however.) Let’s break this series down before going on to the next.

May 31, 2021
Cubs 7, Padres 2
WP: Stewart (1-0) LP: Paddack (2-4)
Box Score

This was supposed to be Trevor Williams’s start, until he had to get an appendectomy and got put on the 10-day IL because that’s how this season has been going for the Cubs so far. Instead, they put Kohl Stewart to the fire, who has only 17 big-league outings to his name, with the last one being in 2019.

However, Stewart and the Cubs held things together against the Padres. Stewart pitched five innings and allowed only three hits and one run. He walked only one batter and struck out 2 keep his ERA at 0.0. He also had a nasty play to walk off the fourth inning, as the ball was hit right to his glove, which he caught on a bounce with his back turned to the batter and making the throw to Kris Bryant at first base. The other bullpen guys, Andrew Chafin and Tommy Nance, closed down the game completely for the Padres, allowing no hits and striking out three batters between them.

The bullpen was able to keep the Padres’ scoring down, as well. Keegan Thompson continues to impress despite his outing being the statically worst of the bullpen this outing. He allowed three hits and one run but also struck out three batters in 2.1 innings. He allowed Tatis Jr. to homer off of him, but that is forgivable considering how out of this world he plays.

This game was a homer-dependent game, as the Cubs homered five times which allowed them to score all 7 of their runs. Javier Baez homered twice, RBI-ing Kris Bryant in the 3rd inning as well. Patrick Wisdom also looked great offensively, as he hit his 2nd and 3rd homers of the year today while being a competent third baseman during this time of injury. Kris Bryant also had a homer, but considering the MVP numbers he is continually putting up it’s not much of a surprise to anybody.

June 1, 2021
Cubs 4, Padres 3
WP: Hendricks (6-4) LP: Weathers (2-2)
Box Score

This game was the only real nail-biter of the series, as Hendricks was able to make it one full rotation before the Padres were able to really start hitting off of him. Wisdom homered in the 2nd inning, scoring Baez, to put the Cubs up in a relatively comfortable 2-0 lead early. Then, on his second round through the rotation, Hendricks started to slide a little, allowing a solo homer from Victor Caratini (making Cubs fans to bitterly remember what a competent backup catcher looks like since at the moment our backup catcher is on the 60-day IL), a single to pitcher Ryan Weathers, and then another two-run homer to put the Dodgers ahead, all in a two-out situation. Manny Machado singled, but after that Hendricks was able to finally get the strikeout he needed to get out of the inning.

Luckily for us, the Cubs answered immediately to this one. Sergio Alcantara, bright-eyed and playing his 13th career MLB game, got on base with a leadoff single. Despite Kyle Hendricks’s best efforts on a bunting attempt, Alcantara was called out at 2nd, meaning Willson Contreras was the leading run when he stepped up to the plate. He crushed the ball to center field for a two-run homer, of course.

Are you bored yet of me telling you the bullpen was fantastic with no issues? There were no hits allowed for any of the three bullpen pitchers, and together they recorded four strikeouts. Three of them came from Craig Kimbrel, who struck out three Padres in a row to end the game. Thanks Kimbrel. Don’t ship him off to another team please.

June 2, 2021
Cubs 6, Padres 1
WP: Alozlay (4-4) LP: Johnson (1-2)
Box Score

The Cubs were able to sweep this series in a quite miraculous way, immediately answering back when the Padres took the lead in the 4th inning thanks to a throwing error on the Padres’ part to score Anthony Rizzo and get Rafael Ortega to reach first base. One inning later and Rizzo made his presence known, doubling on a huge, huge hit that scored two runs and put the Cubs up in a much more comfortable 3-1 lead. Rizzo is back and you missed him, but whatever you do, Ricketts family, don’t resign him.

We all thought that 3-1 lead was going to come the inning before in the 4th, after two Padres fielders pulled a Nico Hoerner/Ian Happ-à-la-1-month-ago, colliding trying to catch a fly ball and ending the inning on a double play before both collapsed on the field in pain and were taken out of the ballgame. Probably the worst part of this game to watch by far.

Back to the show: there was still so much to like. Ian Happ’s infield single scored another Cub to make it 4-1, and Javier Baez shortly thereafter hit an absolute bomb to make it 6-1. The people at Wrigley were going absolutely nuts, and that was before a fan hopped onto the field with a Jesus sign, got tackled by security, and Pat Hughes announced that he’d be “going to jail for the night,” though he didn’t seem sure of his prediction by any means.

Adbert Alzolay got the win, allowing the Padres’ only run and three hits, striking out seven batters. And the bullpen was once again absolute nails: they allowed two hits between the four of them, Nance got himself in and out of a pretty sketchy jam in the 7th inning, allowing 0 of 2 Padres in scoring position to score that day. It was exactly the game the Cubs needed to end on before the west coast trip.

Finally, shoutout to Boog Sciambi for singing what was legitimately the worst version of the 7th-inning stretch me or my dad have ever heard.

—

It’s road trip time, as the Cubs will be spending some time in California to play the Giants, who were on a four-game win streak before they got walloped by the Angels yesterday to the tune of 8-1, and that was without Mike Trout or Shohei Ohtani in the lineup, so yikes.

Despite this, and thanks to the Padres’ collapse this series, the Giants now find it is them at the top of the NL West standings with a 34-21 record. Some wins against the Giants, who are slightly less injured than the Padres right now, are quite necessary. Like Soundgarden (good all the way to the end), the Cubs will have to just keep on rowing through these games, come hell or high water, picking up as many wins as they can in order to stave off the selloff. They’re trying their damndest to do so, and it’s making great baseball. Go Cubs go!

Baseball

Series Recap: Sox Lose 2 of 3 To Cleveland – Icky Thump

By Andy Jonathan 867

BOX SCORES

Game 1: White Sox 8 – Cleveland 6

Game 2: White Sox 1 – Cleveland 3

Game 3: White Sox 5 – Cleveland 6

Game 4: Rained Out

 

I guess the best thing that can be said about this series is that the Sox only lost one game in the standings to Cleveland. Ultimately there were some disturbing trends in this series that bear watching, such as the offense continuing to strand runners on base combined with Carlos Rodon and Dylan Cease turning back the clock in a less than stellar way. Throw in Yermin Mercedes being colder than Winnipeg in January and you have a formula for a losing streak in there.

The fact that the Sox have thus far been able to avoid extended periods of losing gives me a hollow feeling in my gut that has nothing to do with the Taco Bell currently residing there. The reality is that the Sox are currently .500 (9-9) against teams with a winning record. With a much stiffer schedule in June that includes Toronto, Houston and Tampa Bay the urpy feeling isn’t quite ready to go away just yet. I totally get that you have to punch down against the lesser teams on your schedule, but outside of the series against the Cardinals (who they themselves are not exactly running and gunning as of late) the Sox offense just hasn’t looked up to snuff. I suppose we’ll know more at the end of the month, and hopefully all this indigestion was more chalupa-based than anything else.

 

TO THE BULLETS!

 

NUMBERS DON’T LIE

Game 1

-Another moment of concern came in the first few innings of this game when Carlos Rodon’s fastball velocity seemed to be 4-5 mph off his usual heat of 96-97. He was able to bring it up to 95ish by the 4th and 5th innings, but this (combined with the dingers he was giving up) was pretty concerning and definitely bears watching in his next start.

-The Sox offense put up 8 runs in this one, but most of that was thanks to some serious shenanigans in the field by Cleveland. Zack Collins shot a double down the LF line in the 2nd that plated 3, but only after some hilariously bad throwing by Cesar Hernandez and Josh Naylor. I’ve seen better relay throws at my D league softball games, and most of those hit the backstop (GLARES AT JOEY GUTH).

-Cody Heuer ended up with the W after coming in and tossing a clean 7th where he gave up a sharp single, but immediately wiped that out with a nice sinker into a double play to Jose Ramirez (which may be the only out he made all series).

-The Sox were able to plate 3 in the 8th when Billy Hamilton stole 3rd and was knocked in with a sac fly from Jose. After that, Yermin drew a walk and Eaton plopped on into the visitor’s bullpen for a 3 run lead. All this off Sticky Hands James Karinchak, who was seen all series wiping some substance off his mitt into his pitching hand, which Stone and Bennetti called out in game 3 on Monday:

-As detailed in this Athletic article (paywall warning) by Ken Rosenthal and Britt Ghiroli, the use of foreign substances by MLB pitchers seems to be approaching epidemic-level proportions, with some players comparing it to the steroid abuse of the late 90’s and early 00’s. Considering the spin rates on some of these pitches it wouldn’t surprise me at all if this was the case, and I wonder just how much the league will be looking into it.

Game 2

-A spot start here for Jimmy Lambert, who was called up earlier in the week to eat a few innings. He looked pretty serviceable in his 4 innings of work, just really making one mistake to (who the fuck else) Jose Ramirez in the 3rd. Giving the kid a few innings at the ML level while getting some needed rest for the pen was a solid move and I’d like to see him again when rosters expand in September.

-Cal Quantrill held the Sox at bay, scattering 4 hits and striking out 5 in 4 innings of work in true Opener fashion. Other than Nick Madrigal’s RBI single in the 3rd there wasn’t much to write home about here offensively.

-In other call up news, Ryan Burr made an appearance and went 1 and 1/3d innings. He struck out half the batters he faced, and overall looked pretty solid (mostly because he didn’t face Jose Ramirez). Bullpen depth is good, especially the type that has the movement on his fastball like he does.

-This game sucked.

Game 3

-Dylan Cease looked all out of sorts in this one, throwing almost 50 pitches in the first two innings. His fastball command deserted him, and he was catching too much of the zone with all of his stuff. He only walked 1, which was good, but he also only struck out 2. Add those to the 8 hits and 6 ER he gave up and that was too much of a lead to overcome.

-Shane Bieber looked as hittable as he ever has yesterday, yet the Sox kept letting him off the hook with 2 outs. The Sox very easily could’ve knocked him out of the game early, yet bad approaches at the plate by Tim Anderson and Jose Abreu (who struck out twice with RISP, once to end the game) let him escape with only 2 earned runs in his 7 innings of work.

-Billy Hamilton has turned himself into an excellent signing by Rick Hahn, as he turned a gapper into an inside the park home run (no matter how the official scorer at the Jake listed it). He also scraped the living shit out of his face with a hands-first slide into home that looked fantastic, and also painful as hell.

-Maybe Jake Lamb doesn’t suck so much after all.

-Yermin Mercedes needs a few days off, but the lineup is so paper-thin right now that I don’t know how many Tony can actually give him.

 

Next up is 4 with the Detroit Tigers, which normally is good for what ails ya, but they swept the fucking Yankees last weekend. They even held them to 5 runs in 3 games. They also dropped 10 runs against the Brew Crew on Memorial Day, so I don’t know what the hell to think, other than that the Sox should take nothing for granted and keep punching down.

LFG

 

Baseball

Series Recap: Sox Sweep Orioles – Good Times

By Andy Jonathan 813

BOX SCORES

Game 1: Orioles 1 – White Sox 5

Game 2: Orioles 4 – White Sox 7

Game 3: Orioles 1 – White Sox 3

Game 4: Orioles 1 – White Sox 3

 

Punching down on the teams you’re supposed to beat in MLB is what gets you in the playoffs, and that’s exactly what the Sox did this past weekend. Lucas Giolito returned to his old unhittable self, Lance Lynn looked excellent and Dylan Cease brushed off his stinker in NY to get back to form. The only real issue was Dallas Keuchel and his sinker not sinking nearly well enough that resulted in quite a few balls clearing the OF fences at The Down Arrow. Yet the Sox hit enough dingers of their own to make it a moot point, and when you’re winning games with your 5th starter life is pretty good.

Not much else to say about this one, and it’s a holiday so I’m gonna go play a round of golf and enjoy being with my family. You all should do the same, and we can reconvene after the series with Cleveland with hopefully an even bigger lead in the AL Central. Have a good rest of your holiday everyone.

Let’s Go Sox!

Baseball

Playtime’s Over – Cubs/Reds Series Review: Cubs Win Series 1-0/10-2/1-5

By Summer Corson 935

History is deemed to repeat itself, as once again the Cubs take two out of three this series and another important position player goes down with an injury. The club’s six-game winning streak ended today as the Cubs weren’t as consistent with their bats as they had been in the last few series.

We are also staring at an uphill battle with matchups against actually good teams as opposed to the bottom-of-the-barrel NL Central sludge we’ve been seeing as of late. The season will only get more exciting from here.

May 28, 2021
Cubs 1, Reds 0
WP: Alzolay (3-4) LP: Gutierrez (0-1)
Box Score

This game is the type of game fans point to when they argue that baseball is dying, that it’s too boring and this is why it’s hard to get more young people to watch. Nevertheless, the Cubs were able to win this one, as David Bote hit a solo homer as the only run of the game in the bottom of the 5th inning to give the Cubs the win.

This game was obviously a pitcher’s duel against Adbert Alzolay and the Reds’ Vladimir Gutierrez, pitching in his MLB debut. Alzolay won out, pitching 5.2 innings to Gutierrez’s 5.0, although it was Gutierrez with less hits (2 vs. 5) and walks (2 vs. 3). However, Alzolay allowed no runs, the most important metric, and also had six strikeouts on the day. There were also times in innings 1 and 2 when Alzolay pitched himself into a bit of a sticky situation with runners in scoring position, but he was able to pitch his way out of both of them. A solid outing overall.

Andrew Chafin continues to show us his capabilities as a reliever are just as solid as his abilities to rebuild cars and boats, as Ohioans are wont to do. He allowed only two runs and had a strikeout in his 1.1 innings out.

Tommy Nance and Craig Kimbrel finished out the game, pitching one inning each and both striking out one batter.

There were only three Cubs hits on the day, coming from Kris Bryant (of course), Javier Baez and David Bote again. The bats were not exactly working out today, but hopefully that is just an anomaly and not a trend.

May 29, 2021
Cubs 10, Reds 2
WP: Thompson (3-1) LP: Castillo (1-8)
Box Score

The Cubs were able to hop on the board early in the 2nd inning thanks to a litany of tough fielding plays by the Reds, where they probably could’ve gotten Contreras out at 3rd base but were unable to. Soon Eric Sogard, king of singles, was able to hit one between short and third base, scoring Contreras, and then a single by none other than Zach Davies ended up scoring David Bote right after, putting the Cubs up 2-0.

Then David Bote got hurt, and he looked like he was hurt pretty badly. A dislocated shoulder was eventually confirmed for him after the game, and he got taken out immediately. Considering Bote was third on the team in RBIs and had been playing pretty well over the past few weeks, including making solid defensive plays wherever he’s slotted, this is certainly not good news.

A pretty nice Reds double in the top of the sixth to the corner of right field in a bases-loaded situation allowed them to tie the game, but it only took to the bottom of that inning for the Cubs to break out offensively, thanks in part to four walks in the inning that allowed Eric Sogard to amble on home. A pitching change didn’t even help the Reds get out of the inning, as two singles were able to score two more Cubs, making it 6-2 by the time Baez characteristically struck out to end the inning.

The Cubs piled it on, scoring four more in the next two innings, including a solo homer by Rafael Ortega, who at this point with all the players getting hurt will likely be a new staple on the field. Baez was able to score Joc Pederson in the 8th on a single, and Ian Happ singled also in the 8th to RBI in both Bryant and Baez. At least the offense got going.

As for pitching, Zach Davies went the usual five innings, allowing two hits, two walks and striking out three batters. The bullpen was really solid, allowing no runs in four innings. We saw Rex Brothers pitch for the first time in ten days. Keegan Thompson was credited with the win, allowing only one hit and getting a strikeout. Finally, Tepera and Wieck got two strikeouts each and Maples ended the game by allowing only one hit.

May 30, 2021
Cubs 1, Reds 5
WP: Mahle (4-2) LP: Arrieta (5-5)
Box Score

The Cubs once again were unable to generate a lot of offense, having four total hits on the whole night: Pederson, Bryant, Contreras, and the presumable-new-third-baseman-for-the-next-ten-days Patrick Wisdom. Additionally, three of those four hits came in the 8th inning, where Bryant’s RBI single drove in the only run despite it being far too late in the game for a comeback.

Jake Arrieta was also pretty horrendous, as he was only able to stay in the game for 3.2 innings and in that stretch gave up all five of the Reds’ runs off of six hits. He walked four batters, allowed one homer, and struck out only three in an ugly, forgettable performance to add to his illustrious career.

The only good Cubs news I have to report here is that the bullpen was once again nails. Brad Wieck, who took over for Arrieta in the 4th inning, was the only bullpen pitcher who allowed a hit. The other three pitchers—Brothers, Maples, and Winkler—allowed no hits and only two walks between them all.

—

Anthony Rizzo is still day-to-day with a back injury, and before the game we learned that David Bote will in fact be on the 10-day IL. It’s grand, because the next two and a half weeks of the schedule is pretty brutal. The Cubs will be facing the Padres, the Giants, the Padres again, the Cardinals, and the Mets in that span. And in case you’re still fully engrossed in playoff hockey, these teams are all currently sitting at the top or near the top of their respective divisions.

This is the toughest stretch of baseball the Cubs have faced to date and going into this stretch after falling with a thud in today’s game is probably not great. And that’s not even mentioning the plethora of injured position players we are still hoping to get back soon.

These two weeks will be the ultimate test for this team, and their performance here will very likely help to determine whether or not the Cubs sell or stay put at the trade deadline (I still believe a selloff is imminent because after 2016 we cannot have nice things).

The fun starts now. Go Cubs go!