Photo courtesy of Caylor Arnold-USA TODAY Sports
Top Play (WPA): With two outs in the fifth, Kris Bryant lined a 2-2 fastball into center field to plate Anthony Rizzo and Jorge Soler (.158). As is quickly becoming commonplace, Bryant didn’t try to do too much in the two-strike count, settling for an inside-out swing to place the ball into shallow right-center. Bryant’s single pushed the Cubs win expectancy to 84.8 percent in just the third inning. Jason Hammel needed nothing further, but we’ll get to Mr. Hammel in a moment.
Just before Bryant’s clutch single, Anthony Rizzo ripped an RBI double to left-center (.135). Rizzo again led by example, hustling into second on a play he could have easily settled for a single. The effort was key, as Bryant promptly knocked him in. Rizzo reached base three more times (.494 OBP, MLB leader), with Bryant achieving first base twice (.478 OBP). As I reflect tonight, there does not exist a 3-4 combination in the bigs that I’d select over this tandem. Rizzo is 25 and Bryant is 23. Let’s enjoy this for a long time, friends. We are witnessing the beginning of something special.
Bottom Play (WPA): In an odd example of dominance, the Pirates didn’t generate enough offense to even earn the bottom play award in the losing effort. Starlin Castro’s double-play ground out in the second instead takes the cake (-.076).
Key Moment: Hammel was dominant from start to finish, striking out seven while allowing just four hits and no walks over eight scoreless innings. Hammel worked both sides of the plate, generating ugly swings and weak contact with regularity. The closest the Pirates came to generating offense came in the fifth, when Francisco Cervelli singled softly to right, and Jordy Mercer reached on an error by Addison Russell. After Worley successfully sacrificed the runners into scoring position, Hammel made Josh Harrison look silly with three straight sliders, punctuating the at-bat with a slider in the dirt that Harrison waved at unsuccessfully. Harrison argued he made contact with the pitch to no avail. The outing was especially impressive as Hammel faced the Pirates just five days ago.
Trend to Watch: Hammel has racked up 23 strikeouts and allowed just one walk through four starts. Considering the difficulty of the assignments Hammel has drawn (@ Col, SD, @ Pitt, Pitt), he’s done everything and more than what is asked of him, keeping the Cubs in every game against a quartet of tough opponents.
Pedro Strop pitched another perfect inning. After a well-documented rough patch for the Cubs pen, they have now quietly fired 10 consecutive scoreless innings. With the benefit of health, the bullpen may still end up being a major strength for this team.
After going 0-for-11 on Sunday night, Soler, Rizzo, and Bryant provided all of the offense tonight by going 6-11 with all four runs batted in.
It’s April 27, and the Cubs are five games ahead of the National League favorite Washington Nationals. Sleep well, Wrigleyville.
Coming Next: A pair of finesse lefties square off as Travis Wood (3.66 FIP, 9.2 K/9) faces Jeff Locke (2.28 FIP, 7.1 K/9) in game two. Wood looks to continue his modest early season success, having allowed three earned runs or fewer in each of his first three starts. The Cubs look to expound upon their three-game winning streak, with the possibility of climbing back atop the Central Division standings with a win and a Cardinals loss.