The going is weird. Cub Tracks™ turned pro a long time ago. Cub Tracks™. Where the great ones run away.
Any MLB team can beat you. The good teams WILL beat you.
The Mariners, as we were informed by JD and Boog, are the very definition of a middle-of-the-road team. You do have to work to beat them but they can be beaten. .500 is good. Matthew Boyd did the work but Ryan Pressly had a bit of misfortune and allowed a Mitch Garver home run while the Cubs were busy hitting into groundhog day double plays. Caleb Thielbar and Boyd both got meatballed by Cal Raleigh. Garver hit another in the ninth, off of usually-reliable Genesis Cabrera.
Ian Happ and Reese McGuire went deep for the Cubs. Sammy Sosa made an appearance and was on radio and TV, which was cool. Cubs media is making major play of that, and they should, but we needn’t. Matthew Boyd sustained a bruised shoulder, likely on that liner he captured.
A win today would be nice.
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Chris Emma (670 The Score*): Sammy Sosa cherishes ‘emotional’ return to Cubs, Wrigley Field. “I’m just happy to be back,” Sosa said. “Especially the standing ovation the fans gave to me, it touched me.” Patrick Mooney has words {$}. Andy Martinez also.
Andy Martinez (Marquee Sports Network*): Cubs takeaways: What we learned in series-opening loss to Mariners. “The Cubs’ bullpen had been so good for long that it felt due for an inevitable bad day.”
Maddie Lee (Chicago Sun-Times* {$}): Cubs’ Jameson Taillon targeting two adjustments to address home-run problem. “I just don’t have the same feel for it,” Taillon said.
Zoe Grossman (Marquee Sports Network*): Cubs ace Shota Imanaga K’s eight in first Triple-A rehab start after injury. “… Imanaga looked as polished as ever in his first Triple-A rehab start…”
Zoe Grossman (Marquee Sports Network*): Chris Flexen’s unsung bullpen heroics setting up Cubs for success. “He’s pitching really, really well,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said.
Tom Prizeman (Marquee Sports Network*): MLB All-Star Game roster spot ‘would mean the world’ to Nico Hoerner. “I’ve done some things well this year, but I wouldn’t say I’m having a big all-star season or something,” Hoerner said. Maddie Lee has more Nico* {$}.
Jesse Rogers (ESPN*): Inside the rise of Chicago Cubs star Pete Crow-Armstrong. “You know that’s not normal, right?”
Andy Martinez (Marquee Sports Network*): Jed Hoyer gives update on potential Kyle Tucker-Cubs contract extension. “I obviously would love that to be a long relationship,” Hoyer told Kaplan and Hood. Cubbies Crib* has input.
Food for thought:
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