Photo courtesy of Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports
Top Play (WPA): This game was full of high drama and the 10th inning was no exception. The Cubs, having gone up 4-2 in the top of the inning, sent closer Hector Rondon to the mound to finish things off. It would be safe to say that most Cubs fans felt fine about this, as Rondon has brought a steady hand to the late innings ever since taking over as the full-time closer in 2014. Things looked good initially as Rondon quickly induced two groundouts and looked poised to close things out in proper fashion. A.J. Pollock, though, smacked a double to left (.033), bringing the tying run to the plate in the form of Arizona’s best hitter, Paul Goldschmidt. Goldschmidt promptly did what he has done so many times before for the Diamondbacks and hit a two-run home run (.488) that tied the game and prolonged the contest, allowing for the eventual Diamondbacks victory.
After getting two strikes on both Pollock and Goldschmidt, the only batters of much consequence of late in the Diamondbacks lineup, Rondon failed to put either away. Pollock received a hanging slider, while Goldschmidt was on the good side of a 97 mph heater over the heart of the plate. Each slugged their offering for an extra-base hit and ensured not only that the Cubs wouldn’t be coming away with a win that evening, but that their bullpen arms would be used for another 51 pitches.
Bottom Play (WPA): In the top of the 11th inning, Addison Russell stepped to the plate with runners on first and second and one out. It looked like a great opportunity for the Cubs to yet again take the lead in extra innings, just an inning after having surrendered a two-run margin. Russell likely only needed a single to score a run and even a fly ball would likely have advanced the lead runner to third. The Cubs poor luck with runners in scoring position continued, though, and Russell grounded into a double play (-.218) to end the inning.
Key Moment: The Cubs came into the top of the 13th looking ready to strike. Hits from Jorge Soler (.060) and Junior Lake (.080) brought Miguel Montero to the plate with one out and two on. Montero has been very good against righties this season and throughout his career, and Randall Delgado is not an exceptional pitcher by any means. Delgado was once again struggling on the mound tonight and it seemed the Cubs were about to put themselves in position to win the game. Delgado got ahead 0-1 on Montero before throwing him an 82 mph changeup that Miggy absolutely crushed. Unfortunately, the ball died (-.104) just a few feet short of a home run that likely would have sealed the game for the Cubs. Mike Baxter proceeded to draw a walk (.057) and Russell grounded out with the bases loaded (-.172) to end the top half of the inning, sending the game to what would turn out to be the fateful bottom of the 13th.
Trend to Watch: Junior Lake has been a divisive player ever since he made his debut in 2013 for the Cubs. He has always had seemingly tremendous potential, but has never been able to put all the tools together into a cohesive whole. Then, this offseason, something strange happened. Reports came in from the Dominican Winter League that he had been taking more walks and had changed his approach. This was all well and good, of course, but it was hard to believe it without seeing it occur at the major league level. Well, thus far, Lake has put together far better plate appearances than in 2014 and has looked more thoughtful in his plate approach this season. Lake is seeing more pitches, and while he may never hit well enough to be a regular, he’s beginning to look more and more like a valuable bench outfielder and that is certainly good news.
Coming Next: The Cubs (21-15) continue their series with the Diamondbacks (17-20) tomorrow as they look to recover from a heartbreaking loss last night. Team ace and very legitimate early Cy Young candidate Jake Arrieta (2.77 ERA, 2.25 FIP, 3.37 DRA) takes the mound for the Cubs, while the Diamondbacks send out a pitcher who is very much NOT a Cy Young candidate in Rubby de la Rosa (4.08 ERA, 4.04 FIP, 3.69 DRA).