Well, I had a better night than a lot of you, especially if you watched any of the game in New York, that’s for sure. Friday night is one of my bowling nights and I was pleased with the distraction. On Tuesday, I discarded most of what I’ve been working on. It hasn’t been working anyway. So for the last game, I focused on throwing the ball hard, right to left. Not at all unlike a break shot in pool. The result? A 185.
So I picked it up there again tonight. This result? A 630 series. Better than 800 over my last four games. One wicked split over 30 frames. Everything else was makeable and once I really found it tonight, an awful lot of strikes. Humble brag over. Maybe not humble. But certainly better than baseball was.
Before that first stretch of 13 games in 13 days, the Cubs were 37-22. 15 games over .500. With Friday night’s loss, they are 55-39. 16 games over. 18-17 over their last 35 games. The ship isn’t sinking by any means. But this is a growing stretch of mediocre baseball. Some of it is a tough schedule, some of it tough opposition, and some of it is the team really fighting to find consistency.
This will be a tough weekend. I keep reading hints that the front office is working on bold moves. I hope it is able to land a good one, sooner rather than later. This team needs a boost and I’m not sure where it is coming from otherwise. Their best prospect at this point is an outfielder. That’s where the team is loaded. The only one who has ever played anywhere else is a three-time Gold Glove winner and wasn’t particularly good when he played third base. Two games in 2021 is his most recent experience. It’s the stuff of video games and not real life.
Until moves are made, this team has to find a way. The story is the same. Most days, the team is as good as their starter does. Chris Flexen wasn’t great.
Key Storylines:
Starting Pitching: Chris Flexen threw four innings and allowed three runs on three hits and three walks. Not great.
Relief Pitching: Two Cubs relievers covered the other four innings. Jordan Wicks was tagged for six runs and Caleb Thielbar the other. All three Cub pitchers allowed one homer to Cody Bellinger. Bellinger had a fourth caught over the wall.
Homer Over Reliance: The Cubs managed five hits, one a double. They drew one walk and stole one base. No real production at all.
Third Base Production: Jon Berti was 1-3 with a stolen base.
Dansby Swanson: Batted sixth. 0-4. The last at bat came with a runner on second.
Opposing starter: Lefty. Eight innings, four hits, one walk. Eight strikeouts. Michael Busch drew a walk. PCA had a fly ball caught over the wall. The lefties continue to show progress against lefties.
Pitch Counts:
Cubs: 156, 43 BF (8 IP)
Yankees: 120, 33 BF
Yankees pitchers faced only four over the minimum and only one reliever threw 11 pitches. They’ll have all hands on deck Saturday. The Cubs pitchers had a really rough day allowing 15 hits and four walks. Jordan Wicks threw 68 pitches. I don’t imagine we see either him or Flexen until well after the break. Thielbar was ok, though he allowed two hits and two runs. He’ll pitch again this weekend. Of that, I have no doubt.
Three Stars:
Vidal Bruján doubled in his only at bat.
Michael Busch drew one walk in three plate appearances.
Justin Turner had a single in three plate appearances.
Game 94, July 11: Yankees 11, Cubs 0 (55-39)
Fangraphs
Reminder: Heroes and Goats are determined by WPA scores and are in no way subjective.
THREE HEROES:
Superhero: Jon Berti (.031). 1-3
Hero: Vidal Bruján (.000). 1-1, 2B
*Scorer’s discretion. Three players tied at .000 and I felt Bruján deserved the nod here.
Sidekick: Reese McGuire/Matt Shaw (.000). Each was 0-1.
THREE GOATS:
Billy Goat: Chris Flexen (-.150). 4 IP, 18 BF, 3 H, 3 BB, 3 ER, 2 K (L 5-1)
Goat: Nico Hoerner (-.069). 1-4
Kid: Seiya Suzuki (-.068). 0-3
WPA Play of the Game: Cody Bellinger’s two-run homer in the third inning extended the lead to three with one out. (.145)
*Cubs Play of the Game: Jon Berti singled leading off the fourth. (.041)
Cubs Player of the Game:
Poll
Who was the Cubs Player of the Game?
This poll is closed
38%
Someone else (leave your suggestion in the comments)
(29 votes)
76 votes total
Yesterday’s Winner: Colin Rea received 188 of 263 votes.
Rizzo Award Standings: (Top 5/Bottom 5)
The award is named for Anthony Rizzo, who finished first in this category three of the first four years it was in existence and four times overall. He also recorded the highest season total ever at +65.5. The point scale is three points for a Superhero down to negative three points for a Billy Goat.
Kyle Tucker +32
Matthew Boyd +17
Shōta Imanaga +13
Pete Crow-Armstrong +12.5
Jameson Taillon/Miguel Amaya +11
Matt Shaw -11.83
Julian Merryweather -15
Ben Brown -17
Dansby Swanson -25.33
Seiya Suzuki -27
Up Next: Game two of the three-game set. It’s a quick turn around, so Al will bring you the full preview at 10 a.m. CT. Matthew Boyd (9-3, 2.52, 103⅔ IP) faces Max Fried (11-2, 2.27, 119). This is a matchup of two All-Star pitchers.