PLAYOFF BOOST: Chicago Cubs secure BIG WIN over Mets

PLAYOFF BOOST: Chicago Cubs secure BIG WIN over Mets

The Cubbies bounce back. They get a little bit of help and things are looking okay again. Let’s talk all about it. Cub. You are Locked on Cubs. Your daily Chicago Cubs podcast, part of the Locked Onet, your team every day. You are Locked on Cubs, part of the Locked On Network, your team every day. alongside Sam over. I’m Matt Cozy. Sam and I are lifelong fans taking our passion into a discussion with you on all things Cubs. Hey, big announcement here as we get started. We’re going to make our third appearance this Saturday at Almost Home. Third appearance overall. Uh this Saturday, 11:00 a.m. to 100 pm pregame hangout. Come through even if it’s for 5 to 10 minutes. uh say hello. Uh almost home has been very good to us and uh great deals over there and uh very excited to to to meet uh listeners again and going to do a big giveaway while we’re there as well. Uh maybe someone in the neighborhood uh someone that’s maybe in town for the weekend. But, uh, I think since March, February, I’ve had tickets to game 162 and I’m going to give those away at Almost Home. So, if, uh, if you could be at Almost Home Saturday and, uh, go to the game the next day on Sunday, uh, you would be a good candidate for that. I also have three other items to give away at Almost Home. Uh a soft uh puck, the locked on puck, Sam, a uh Cubs con calendar. Okay. For 2025, even though there’s only a few months left and a autographed Mark Prior card uh for my childhood. Wow. So, that’s going to be four giveaway items, including tickets to 162. And maybe I’ll just Maybe I’ll just give away the hoodie right off my back. 11:00 a.m. to 100 p.m. Almost home in Wrigleyville because by the time we leave Almost Home, Illinois might be down 56-3. Uh later in the show, we’re going to try to predict wild card series game times. Uh go over several injury updates and we start with Cubs Mets. Cubs helped themselves in a big way Wednesday night. 103 win over the Mets. Padres’s also lost. So the Cubs lead for the first wildcard spot is back to two and a half games. Padres’s don’t play Thursday. So this half game thing uh will be over soon. Cubs scored a bunch in this one. Multi-hit games for Bayister Shaw and Bush. Matthew Boyd five and a third and Daniel Palencia and Aaron Savali finished the game. Sam, it was a nice win to increase some elbow room in the standings. It was a huge win. Okay. It wasn’t a nice win. It was a huge win. And um look, I’m going to come out of here. I’m gonna come out because I I missed the show yesterday. I’m gonna come out swinging with some takes. Are you ready for this? I am. I’ve said this on the air a little bit. I’ve hinted at it. I’m going to come out and say it right now. Okay. And I know we’re going to get to it later on. If, listen very carefully, if Kyle Tucker can play right field, there should be a straight platoon between Bayisteros and Sea Suzuki. Bayisterero should be playing verse righties which means because the Padres’s pretty much only have righty starters. If Kyle Tucker can play right field, Bayister should start the wildcard game at DH if it’s possible for Kyle Tucker to play the outfield. At this point, I don’t think it’s a reach. I don’t think it’s a crazy take. And you know, it’s more than just a hot hand theory. It’s been like this for two months. the quality of at bats that this young man puts together. He reminds me, dare I say, of a little bit of a lefty Nico up there in clutch spots. I actually did a little bit of an experiment today. I took my heart rate when Nico was up in a big spot. What? I took my heart rate when Bayisteros was up in a big spot. And I took my heart rate when Seiya was up in a in a big spot. 60 for Nico, 63 for Bayisteros. I’m not even gonna say what it was for Seiya because that might also mean that I have, you know, I I got maybe need to get a little more cardio mixed into my routine. But I’m just saying the point is you feel comfortable when he’s at the plate in a big spot. He puts the bat on the ball. He has a pretty good idea of the zone. Sure, you worry about the double play. Absolutely. uh especially with his ground ball rate and his lack of speed. But am I crazy? Well, one week ago, Bayister Asteros wasn’t even a lock for the roster. He definitely is now. And at this point, I think they should do that. That’s what the Cubs should do. I have some trepidation about your idea there. It’s similar to the one I had with half uh when when you wanted halfbenched. uh quite possibly one of your your uh bolder stances that you still think you needed a couple days and uh possibly one of your more ridiculous stances that I’ve heard in the since we’ve been doing shows since August of 2020 uh before people even knew who we were. But that sounds right against Nick Paveta on Tuesday. The Cubs need the best lineup out there. I know the goal is to get Tucker to play right field. Yeah. Can’t it can’t work like if he does it. If he DH is that say has to play the outfield, right? There’s a tradeoff there. Yeah. But even so even so maybe you know Tucker play right the eighth and ninth. You know you could still get a little creative with Bayister subbing for Seiya. But to open a game, if if Tucker can play right field, I think that is what they should do. I don’t think it’s gonna happen, though. I Oh, I don’t think so either. But that’s what I And and and again, we still have four more games. He batted cleanup tonight, Sam. We still have four more games we still have four more games for Seya to show something. And again, I know he had a nice double today, but he’s not elevating the ball in the air. the the quality of at bat with Baseros is just at another level. I mean, he hasn’t had a lot of at bats in a Cub uniform uh this year, but I mean, he has a 397 on base, man. Uh and he’s a playoff type hitter. I I just I I want his bat in there. I I really really do. I think Tucker has to play if he could go. I think he’s earned that right. Um and you traded a lot for him and you need him to go. I don’t think Seiya has to be this lock and and it works out because uh uh they got Mora Hone uh the lefty the lefty so once he comes in for Bastos boom you insert Seiya and that’s fine but I just I don’t know I I think I think this this young man has really earned an opportunity here. Maybe I’m overreacting but but he’s hit all year and um this team needs hitters like that especially in the playoffs. Th this guy can hit, Matt. I I thought even with a couple other guys hitting home runs, I thought Bias Daryl was the top story. Me too. Me too. Great minds think alike. It’s what I talked about in my short. When Moraone comes in next week, does Turner Santana pinch hit for Bush? Yeah. So, actually, it’s funny. I had a little miscommunication on Twitter. Shocker. Uh because when I was tweeting that Bayister should start it. It was right when uh Bush got thrown out at home. Okay. And so so I said I put in parenthesis um Bush Bush is out or something like that, but I meant Bush is out at home, not out of the lineup for my because people thought I meant to replace um and that’s is that Matthew or Michael Bush by the way? Did it push Homer off a lefty today? Yep. I think BCH stays I think Turner Santana come in probably Turner if it’s like a contact spot. So if it’s like late tied runners on the corners one out then I think you see Turner because I just trust his his wand ability being able to move the baseball around. You know there’s no analytics for that. Um what was that wand? W A N D. Yeah. Like his wand ability like just being able to just kind of hey I’m just going to spray that to the right side whereas Bush just kind of just has one swing. So, I think it’s situationally dependent, but I think with a couple guys on, you know, yes, you’ll see that. Uh, but of course, BCH with his 31st home run, shout out to him, will be starting and most likely batting lead off uh on Tuesday afternoon. Yes, as we get into game times uh later. Man, I feel refreshed. Well, it was a it was a good news day. I’ve had a cold since July 4th. I’m still holding my breath about Horton Sam. No, me too. I don’t want to get into that. We’ll get to injury updates later. So, guess we have to uh Shinaga and Nolan McClean who has a 127. Wow. Minuscule ERA in his first seven starts in the big leagues. FanDuel has both teams at minus 108 overunder runs just seven. What do the Cubs need to do to win this series against the Metropolitans? Well, Imanaga has to have a better start the last time he faced the Mets at Wrigley. Oh, remember that? Yeah, that was the uh was that the nine 10 run outing? I think 11. Oh, 11. Um yeah, I mean, listen, I’m glad the Cubs won this game. I don’t expect them to win tomorrow. Uh the Mets are, you know, kind of like they’re playing for their playoffs playoff lives. I just want to see show to look sharp. What did you think of Boyd today? Did you get any more confidence? I’d say I I I say I feel about the same. No, I do feel a little better. A little better. Okay. I only gave up two hits. Yeah. Yeah. I thought he looked fine again. Like I I think he kind of looked how he did. He just got better results. I don’t know. Um Okay. I Yeah, I thought he I thought he looked uh a little better. Uh just just real quickly. Um well, you know what? I’ll wait for the next segment to do that. All right. Is it on breaking news on Horton? It’s not breaking, but it’s news. Yeah. Okay. Coming up next, we update Horton Tucker. Those are important guys, huh? A whole lot more. What was that? Those are important guys. Uh, yeah, they are. Your best hitter and your best pitcher. We got a playoff game coming up. This episode is brought to you by FanDuel. The NFL season is here and FanDuel is making sure you’re ready for kickoff with a can’tmiss offer. Right now, new customers can bet just $5. And if your bet wins, you’ll get $300 in bonus bets to use across the app. Folks, the beloved go to Vegas Sunday for a 325 tilt against the Raiders. FanDuel right now has that one at Raiders minus one and a half. Typically, I’d tell you that I think the Bears are going to lose this game and to bet on the Raiders, which I still probably feel, but it’s a weird game because I don’t know how to handicap the home field advantage. Um, because there’s going to be a lot of Bear fans in Las Vegas. And so, that’s why it’s kind of a weird line to me. So, are you ready to play? Download the FanDuel app now by visiting fanduel.com to get started. That’s fanduel.com to place your first $5 bet. Shout out to the Everydayers. You can become a locked on Cubs Everyday by joining us for every episode throughout the week. All right, let’s start with Kate Horton who got an MRI on Wednesday after leaving his Tuesday start with back tightness that may or may not have been uh accelerated because of a cough. Sam, what’s the update on that? Bruce Levine. Quote, “Cubs will go over Cade Horton’s MRI tonight with the team doctors council just said.” End quote. Okay. Or and tweet. Well, it’s going to be a late night over on Clark and Addison. I don’t like that. Do you? No. Not thrilled. I don’t like Typically, if it’s clean, what’s there to go over? Right. Right. Just tell us it’s clean. I don’t like that at all. Yeah. Oh. Uh, yeah. It’s not it’s uh it’s it would be a a a a buzzkill for sure. Uh I’m I’m hoping for the best. I do think the calendar is is still on a lot of these guys’ side, as hard as that is to believe. Um but I guess we’ll have to wait for what would that be? 3 or 3:30 when the clubhouse opens on uh on Thursday unless someone uh gets gets that news first. So uh Daniel Palencia was activated from the IIL Wednesday. Uh that gives the Cubs pen more stability with him. Keller Theelbar Kitridge and Pomerance. They’re going to be the five short relief options next week in the playoffs. Sam, unless I’m I’m missing someone. Nope. I think Ray will be the long relief option. Uh I think Tyion makes it now and uh bunch uh Shagrin I believe is the phrase. I guess Sroa and Rogers make it as well. Um nice to see Palencia on Wednesday. I I I think that’s another him and Tucker coming back is massive. Yeah, I’m I’m still a little bit apprehensive with Palencia coming into a high high levered spot next week. Sure. But having him back is helpful. Um Tucker, I’m ready to throw in there. Yeah. No matter what. Yeah. So Craig Councel said in three different spots Wednesday he was on 670 the score. where he had his, you know, you know, usual media scrum pregame and then on ESPN during the game, Kyle Tucker’s going to play Friday as the DH. I’d be surprised at this point if he didn’t. And if he didn’t, I think that would be the end of his year. Um, but that’s that’s where it’s trending. Boog leaked that during the game Tuesday and and now it’s all but confirmed. Um, so DH I think he’ll DH all three games, don’t you? and then you know do some outfield drills pre or post and then I think Monday this Monday will be a big day for him as well if there is a chance to get him it right. Uh but him him returning as the DH is it’s it’s fantastic. It’s the last piece before we head into this three-day chaos. Um, and folks, we’re going to have some sort of I’m going to do some sort of few inning watch along on Tuesday. It’s not going to be all nine because I I I got to watch the game and write I got to be like write stuff down and do some other stuff. But I’ll do something Tuesday. Uh, just waiting on the times obviously which we’ll talk about in a bit. Um, and obviously finishing the job of home field. But, uh, yeah, I I think Tucker is the last piece of of Hey, let’s go. You know, we got all our horses. Let’s go. You know, it’s time now. You know, I mean, my show tomorrow that I’ll be doing, Matt, a lot of it is gonna be just, you know, motivation [Music] for the for the team, allergies, like this is so your usual bits. Yeah, a lot of bits. a lot of people fired up for for what hopefully will be a you can hear some of those live in person at almost home Saturday 11 to1 a playoff series at the friendly confines with everything on the line. What more could you want? What more could you ask for? You get Kyle Tucker back. Pete maybe shows some signs this weekend. you got a little bit of a wild card uh uh pun intended in a in a guy like Bayisteros. Hopefully you get Cade and and you roll through. The Padres suffered a big injury today to one of their good players, Raone Larry Lauriano. Um you know, so there so so both teams are going to be banged up and you just you roll the ball out there and see who the better team is over three games and see if you can make a run that everybody will remember. What’s better than that? No, it’s it’s phenomenal. Phenomenal stuff. Go for it, man. Go for it. Go be great. Let’s say let’s meet somewhere in the middle on Horton just for a minute. Well, I’m not feeling great about that. Well, let’s say he can’t pitch Tuesday, but they say, “Oh, he he he’d be available later.” Then who pitches Tuesday? Boyd. Okay. Just based on time, I think it should be I Managa, right? But if I Managa is throwing Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, he he comes off. Yeah, it’s regular days rest, but we not for him necessarily. Not for him necessarily. So, you’d rather have Boyd off the extra day. Miguel Amaya will rejoin the Cubs on Friday, but he may not be activated from the IIL. He’ll just be around. Uh there is a chance he could be activated though either this weekend or the wild card. And Sam Owen Casey’s season is over. Uh most likely. Uh he’s still recovering from a concussion. So council did give that update. And uh man, I hope I hope Horton’s okay. I I just think there is a little bit of momentum here off on and off the field after this win with Tucker with Palencia and Horton would uh would put the put the icing on that momentum. I I want him out there Tuesday afternoon. Of course. See, I guess for me why I’m remaining optimistic is Council said if it was the playoffs, he would have kept pitching on Tuesday, right? But that doesn’t mean he could have kept pitching on Tuesday and then they do an MRI. I just hope they didn’t find anything. As long as there’s no structural stuff with the MRI, I’ll be good. Right. Right. Yeah. Especially looking at the big picture as well. Right. All right. Coming up next, I’ve done some investigative work on wildcard times and uh so we’re going to go through some of that next. Today’s episode is brought to you by Rouette. Guys, you’ve probably heard of Viagra Seialis, but maybe you’ve even tried them. But if you’re looking for something beyond the usual pill, it’s time to meet Rouette Golong. That’s exactly where Rouette Golong comes in. This isn’t just another ED pill. It’s a total game changer for confidence. Golong combines two doctor trusted medications and one dualaction formula so you can get hard and go the distance. The effects can last up to 36 hours. That’s confidence all day, all night, and even into the next day. The process is simple. Connect with a board certified doctor, 100% online. And if prescribed, your treatment ships discreetly right next to your door. If prescribed, your treatment ships discreetly right to your door. Ready to level up your confidence in the bedroom? Head to rouette.com rug gi.com and use promo code lockdown MLB for 15% off your first order. That’s rouette.com promo code locked on MLB. Make sure to use our code so that they know we sent you for Rouette. Make sure you’re subscribed to Locked on Cubs audio and video. that way you don’t miss any of the great Cubs content we’ve got for you, including the postcast with Joe George live after the final out of every game. All right, I did some investigative work earlier on as we continue to wonder when the Cubs will play next week, likely hosting the Padres’s at Wrigley Field. Uh the wild card expanded in 2022. And so in front of me now I have all the game times for all four wildcard series each of the last three years since it started. And these are all central standard time s. Okay. Uh all right. So last year it was 1:32 in Houston, 3:08 in Baltimore, 4:32 in Milwaukee, 7:38 in San Diego. And that that’s central time you said, right? These are all central. Should I keep going, please? Okay. 2023, 208 in Tampa, 3:38 in Minneapolis, 6:08 again in Milwaukee, and 7:08 in Philly. And 2022, 11:07 a.m. in Cleveland, 107 in the STL, 30:07 in Toronto, 7:07 in New York. I think what we could see here is the biggest factor when you play is television. Yep. And for that the main consideration is market size. And you would think, okay, Cubs are in the wild card night game, but the Yankees might be in the wild card, the Red Sox might be in the wild card, the Yankees might play the Red Sox, and the Mets might be in it against the Dodgers. So, I have no idea what is going to happen. Yeah. I will eventually give my prediction though. Where where are you going with this right now? Yeah, I’ll just give my prediction right now. Sure. Um I think the earliest game will be the non Yankees wild card. Yep. Guardians Tigers right now. Okay. So that’s going to be I think that’s going to be about 12:00ish our time. And then I think you just gave me hope with the last times. I think we’re going to play in like a a a one between one and three slot in the middle of the day. Um which will kind of be the prime time of the day. Uh games. I don’t know exactly. They could maybe out of respect to the Cubs they do like a 110 because it’s just like a 120. You know what I mean? Right. Um maybe they do a two o’clock. I mean, the earlier the better, so you don’t have to deal with the shadows. Um, and then I think the big prime slot will be at 6:05 Central time. That’ll be the Yankees versus whoever. Um, and then the the 8:30ish will be in LA, Dodgers, Mets. Yeah. Yeah. I think that’s a good prediction. I uh I I don’t And by the way, sorry, what a slay to baseball. I mean, if you’re if you’re a neutral fan, no disrespect to the first game, forget it. Just get your work done during that. Uh because neither of those two teams are going to win the World Series. But then you get Cubs Padres’s, you know, as a matinea into the New York Yankees potentially playing maybe the Red Sox or whoever it is. And then you get to end your night with a rematch of the NLCS last year between fantastic New York and LA. I mean, you want to talk about baseball being back? It I mean, come on. For sure. I It’s It’s March Madness, you know, adjacent Wrigley in the middle of the day for the postseason. So, I think this is this is coming up roses for the Cubs. Actually, Cubs are going to win that series. I don’t know the exact minutes, you know, after the hour. Well, forget that’s 11 o’clock San Diego time. They might be up for that game. I don’t know the exact minutes after the hour, but I think it’s going to be Guardians Tigers at 11, Cubs Padres’s at 1, Yankees Red Sox at six, Mets Dodgers at 8. So, basically the exact same prediction that I had. Save an hour. Yeah, I think that’s right. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Well, you know, I don’t think they should start a playoff game at 11:00 Central time. I think that’s just a bit much for they did three years ago. I mean, I I’m I I’m just getting in. Why is that a bit much? It has a It has a tail. I haven’t even finished my yogurt. I mean I mean, come on. Hey, listen. If they have an 11 o’clock slate, just put the Cubs there. That’s 9:00 a.m. Padre time. Wow. I’ll take that advantage. That’d be nuts. Morning baseball at Wrigley. No, they never do that. But I’m telling you, the more and more I think about it, the more psyched I am about the one:00. The only problem is it’s going to be in like the 70s, so you’re not going to get much weather advantage. Uh, that’s that’s typical San Diego weather. I don’t know why that was so funny. Um, well, cuz it’s nice weather, but you want it to be like I want the I want the conditions to be like they were tonight. I want the wind howling in when Boyd’s on the mound. I mean, howling. The Cubs will win that game if the wind is blowing in. I want the I want a ball to be hit to left field that’s knocked down that that looks like it’s going to hit the scoreboard, doesn’t even get to the track. The Cubs will win that type of game against San Diego. Yeah, for sure. And I I think they’re going to win anyways, but I I And remember, we saw we saw Pava v. Boyd in April. We might see that Tuesday. The Cubs won that game by a score of what was like seven to one, 52, something like that. Yeah, it was around I think around there. Kelly Homer, Swanson Homer. I do have a bonus trivia. Oh, I haven’t gotten through a show without a trivia question since the 80s. Uh, I’m feeling real hyped up tonight. This season is only the third time four different players have posted 50 plus homers in a year. Tonnie, Judge, Schwarber, and Raleigh. You said the fourth. This also happened in 1998 and 2001. Can you name the four players in both 98 and 01 if you go by season? That’s an absolutely fantastic question. Thank you. 98. Sosa Maguire Griffy. That’s right. Um, wow, that was quick. Oh, boy. The fourth one’s going to trip me up. Was it Juan Gonzalez? No. Okay. Um, you said at least 50. I could give you a team if you want, but I don’t know if it’s going to help. Brady Anderson, Palro, one of those two. No. Okay. Uh, oh, I should know this. No. Oh, I shouldn’t. Hard. Really hard. Albert Bell. Greg Vaughn with the Padre. I should have I I would have gotten that. You think you should have gotten that? Absolutely. He always comes up on trivia. All right. 01. 01. Sosa. Yep. Bonds. Right. Giani. Nope. No. Uh, did Magguire Was Magguire done or did he have one more left? I think he I I don’t know if he was done, but it’s not on the list. Okay. So So Sosa Bonds. Uh did A-Rod do it? No one. Yes, he did. Okay. I should have got that. Um 0150 plus. That’s That’s pass Griffy. Uh uh 01. So that was the year the Diamondbacks played the Yank. I mean uh uh uh that was the year maybe stick around that area. Yeah. Uh Luis Gonzalez, correct? Yeah, I was going to say that because that was the year the Diamondbacks played the Yankees. I know he had a big year that year. Yeah. All right. Meets with Craig Councel. Yeah. I mean that was one of the great World Series of all time. Uh I believe it was uh Schilling Clemens game seven. Soraniano hits the what what should be the game-winning home run and then the Diamondbacks come back late off the you know greatest closer of all time. This is locked on Cubs. Mark Grace, I think, started that inning. I think Mark Grace got a pinch hit single to start that inning. Yeah, he was the first baseman for the Snakes that year. Your team every day. For your second listen, check out Locked on MLB game night. Every game, every night, all season long and local analysis on a national scale. Find MLB game night and the lockdown MLB channel on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcast. All right, Sam will be back after Cubs Mets Thursday as we approach the last four games of the regular season. He’s Sam over. I’m Matt Cozy. This is Lockdown Cubs. Go Cubs.

The Cubs got back in the win column on Wednesday. We recap the victory, go over all of the injury updates, help predict the gametimes for the Wild Card series next week, and more.

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