Top Play (WPA): Nobody is going to read this recap. Nobody, because the mighty have fallen. 7,921 games after Sandy Koufax last threw one against them, at Dodger Stadium on a cool September night, the Chicago Cubs have fallen victim to that extraordinarily rare baseball accomplishment: the no-hitter. Cole Hamels, the Philadelphia starter, was masterful today, striking out 13 and walking just two. The Cubs never had a chance, and what chance they did have was erased in the third inning when Ryan Howard (another fallen star) launched a three-run home run to left field off of Cubs starter Jake Arrieta (+.286). The Phillies later scored two more runs, but it didn’t matter. This game, possibly Hamels’ last in a Philadelphia uniform, was on the mound for the team in red.
Bottom Play (WPA): There weren’t a lot of truly bad plays in this game, at least by WPA. The game graph is a long, slow march to zero for the Cubs, with individual plays counting for very little towards the inevitable conclusion. The worst play actually came courtesy of a Philadelphia hitter. In the second inning, with a runner on first in a tie game, Cody Asche, the left fielder, bunted a ball back to the mound, allowing Arrieta to toss quickly to Starlin Castro covering second and retire Carlos Ruiz there (-0.036). Like I said, not a particularly consequential play, in the grand scheme of things, but the biggest one today.
Key Moment:
No. 7,921: Cole Hamels has no-hit the Cubs. The Streak dies.
— Cubs No-Hit Streak (@CubsNoHitStreak) July 25, 2015
Trends to Watch: It seems mean to talk about the offense here. It’s obvious that they weren’t very good today. So let’s focus on Arrieta, who continued a stretch of pretty decent starts today. I know it’s hard to see, in a game where what happened happened, but consistently allowing three runs over six innings—as Arrieta did today—is a perfectly acceptable way to go about your business. I wrote, in the recap to yesterday’s game, that Arrieta came into the contest with a 70 DRA- and a 76 cFIP. That first number will come down a little bit after today, as he struck out eight and walked just three. That will play.
Coming Next: I wonder what the TV ratings will be for this one, after the two games the Cubs have just had. Phillies top prospect Aaron Nola, who recently arrived in The Show, will take his 1.50 ERA and 97 cFIP into a contest with Jason Hammel, who sports an 82 DRA- and an 83 cFIP over a far greater innings total. Looking beyond the Philadelphia series, as I believe we must, the Cubs stay put at Wrigley and welcome the Rockies to the Friendly Confines, where they’ll try to right the ship and get themselves back into the playoff picture. With today’s loss, the Cubs will end the day at least one game out of a playoff spot for the first time since April. If there’s a low point in the season so far, this is it. Onwards.
Lead photo courtesy Caylor Arnold-USA TODAY Sports