Photo courtesy of Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports
Top Play (WPA): Although it wasn’t the play that handed the Padres the lead, the straw that broke the camel’s back was a Will Venable single to center that scored Yangervis Solarte from second to knot the game at two (.261).
Solarte was the second Padres’ baserunner to leadoff an inning by reaching on a Cubs’ error and eventually score, and he wouldn’t be the last. While most of the miscues fell on the shoulders of Cubs’ infielders, Jason Hammel played a role in this sequence, as his wild pitch allowed Solarte to advance to second just before Venable’s groundball single brought him home.
Bottom Play (WPA): Working with a 2-0 lead, Hammel procured a groundball to third to start the bottom of the fifth. Kris Bryant rushed his throw and it sailed above Anthony Rizzo’s head, allowing Justin Upton to advance to second. Solarte immediately followed with a single to right, scoring Upton. Hammel then induced another ground ball from Will Venable—one of nine induced from Hammel in the game—and second baseman Addison Russell twisted the four-six-three double play to kill the rally (-.114).
Key Moment: To start the bottom of the eighth in a 2-2 ballgame, pinch-hitter Clint Barmes reached base on a costly error from Russell. A lazy fly ball drew interest from Starlin Castro, Dexter Fowler, and Russell, but it was Russell who eventually called them off as he faded towards left-center, only to have the ball slip out of the webbing of his glove. Padres’ manager Bud Black would pinch-hit again, this time with Abraham Almonte dropping down a beautiful bunt after a few unsuccessful tries. The Cubs were positioned well, but the batted ball found a crease between the mound and third base and never drew a throw, putting runners at first and second and nobody out. This sequence brought Maddon out of the dugout to discuss positioning and strategy—and for good reason, as the following batter, Cory Spangenberg dropped down a bunt that Miguel Montero fielded cleanly and nailed Almonte at second on a bang-bang play, preserving the double play with runners at the corners. Derek Norris then delivered the biggest blow, as his double to the left field corner scored two, giving the Padres a 4-2 lead.
Trends to Watch: Hammel’s performance, one that included eight strikeouts—tied for a season high—and nine groundballs, was mired by errors, but was one of his finest starts nonetheless. Hammel delivered first pitch strikes to 19 of the 25 batters he faced. As he got ahead of hitters, he was able to then keep Padres’ hitters off balance, throwing his off-speed stuff out of the zone, and garnering ground balls. Even with the 19 first-pitch strikes, Hammel threw over 60 percent of his pitches outside the zone. The 64.7 percent groundball rate was his highest this season, and dating back to 2014, his second highest percentage overall.
Coming Next: Wednesday night’s game in San Diego will be the 2015 debut for left-hander Tsuyoshi Wada, as he takes Travis Wood’s spot in the rotation. The 34-year-old Wada made 13 starts for the Cubs in 2014 with a 3.25 ERA, 4.46 DRA, 100 cFIP, and 7.4 strikeouts per nine innings. Wada has a five-pitch mix, relying on his four-seam fastball most heavily (37.3 percent usage), but he increased usage of his sinker last year as the season progressed. The Padres march out Tyson Ross, who will make his second start against the Cubs this season. He did not factor into the decision in his prior start, as he allowed three runs in 5 2/3 innings of work in a 7-6 Cubs victory at Wrigley Field.