Top Play (WPA): Following Starlin Castro’s 13th error of the season, Kyle Hendricks fell behind Ian Desmond 2-0 before delivering an 87-mph sinker that stayed up just enough for Desmond to create loft:
Hendricks hit Miguel Montero’s outside target, but Desmond stayed with the pitch and drove a two-run home run into the right-field seats (.195). The Nationals enjoyed the second inning 2-1 lead until the fourth, when Jonathan Herrera singled to right to plate Chris Denorfia for the victorious Cubs top play of the game (.139).
Bottom Play (WPA): With two on and one out in the fifth, Hendricks faced Bryce Harper while protecting a precarious 4-3 lead. Hendricks left a curve up in the zone, but Harper couldn’t muster anything but a lazy fly out (-.068). Hendricks then retired Anthony Rendon to end the threat.
Harper had a chance to redeem himself in the seventh, when he faced James Russell as the potential tying run in 6-3 game. Russell worked Harper carefully with three consecutive cutters away:
Harper again failed to deliver in the clutch, flying out to left to end the inning.
Key Moment: The biggest hit of the game came in the fifth, when Chris Coghlan delivered a bases-loaded single to score Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant. The base knock gave the Cubs a 4-2 lead of which they never relinquished.
Bryant found himself in the middle of the action frequently, collecting three hits, a walk and two runs scored. He fell just a homer short of the cycle, but Harper would probably tell you he should have caught the triple into the right field corner. The three-hit game raised his slash line to .282/.389/.471, keeping him in the middle of the National League Rookie of the Year race along with Dodger teammates Joc Pederson and Alex Guerrero.
Trend to Watch: After dropping two out of three in Miami, the Cubs rebounded nicely by taking three out of four from a solid Nationals club. The win draws them within a half-game of second-place Pittsburgh.
Hector Rondon appears to have surrendered his role as closer. After being pulled by Joe Maddon after just one batter on Saturday, Rendon was given eighth inning duties today, with Jason Motte being called on to close. It could just be a mental break for Rondon, but this story is still developing for the Cubs bullpen.
The bullpen as a whole appears to have righted the ship, throwing 12 1/3 innings over the four-game set against the Nationals while allowing just two runs.
Rizzo collected two hits today, recording two knocks in every game of the series. He now owns a 12-game hitting streak, raising his average from .314 to .332 in the process. He remains squarely in the NL MVP race along with today’s opponent Harper.
Coming Next: The Cubs enjoy an off day Monday, traveling to Detroit to start a rare scheduled two-game series on Tuesday. Jon Lester (3.86 ERA, 3.77 FIP, 3.61 K/BB) gets the ball for game one, facing Anibal Sanchez (5.69 ERA, 4.50 FIP, 3.00 K/BB) for the Tigers. Lester will try to rebound from his worst start of the year, in which he surrendered six earned runs in five innings pitched last Wednesday against the Marlins. Sanchez has struggled mightily, giving up five earned runs or more on five separate occasions this season. The Tigers have won two straight, but lost their previous eight. They enter the series four games back of the AL Central leading Minnesota Twins.
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