Top Play (WPA): It’s not quite accurate to say that this game was a disaster from the start, but that’s only because Dallas Beeler had been announced as Tuesday’s starter a few days in advance and so it’s probably more accurate to say it was a disaster from whenever that happened. Beeler was flat-out dreadful, allowing four runs in the the first inning and looking bad doing it. The big hit in that inning was Nolan Arenado’s double to left (+.134), which scored both Carlos Gonzalez and former Cub D.J. LeMahieu. Manager Joe Maddon, besides having the patience of a saint, must have also been deeply concerned about tapping into his bullpen too early, so he left Beeler out there for the second. He retired Charlie Blackmon on a popup to Kris Bryant at third base, but a walk to LeMahieu (who’s having an excellent series against the Cubs after a great one in Colorado earlier in the season) was all Maddon need to pull the trigger and put Travis Wood in. Wood was, in general, excellent, striking out six and walking just one in 3 2/3 innings pitched.
Bottom Play (WPA): None of that mattered, however, because the Cubs’ offense never really got going. Their closest chance came in the seventh inning, when (after a Starlin Castro groundout) Chris Coghlan homered, and Addison Russell and Dexter Fowler followed with singles. At this point, the score was 5-2 in favor of the visitors, and it looked like one good, game-tying wallop from Kyle Schwarber, Bryant, or Anthony Rizzo—the next three hitters in the Cubs’ lineup—was a definite possiblity. As (sigh) has become all too common lately, it was not to be. Schwarber grounded the ball to Arenado at third, who tagged Fowler on his way past and recorded the second out of the inning (-0.055). That left things up to Bryant, who hit a soft liner to shortstop—seemingly destined for left field—which was snagged by a leaping Daniel Descalso to retire the side and end the threat. The Cubs would not have another baserunner on the night.
Key Moment: This was a game without any highlight-reel moments. It started badly, continued in much the same vein and, finding nothing better to do, ended as it started. If you’ll permit me the liberty of defining ‘key moment’ as ‘moment in which I was most emotionally invested in the game’, then the ‘key moment’ of this game was the moment that Rafael Soriano came into the game to pitch. Soriano has been—what is the word?—terrible since signing with the Cubs, and tonight was no exception. His inning went double, single, warning track flyout, double, popout, liner to third for an out. Not exactly a recipe for success, and indeed it wasn’t: two Rockies crossed the plate in that inning. I’m perfectly willing to accept that Soriano was once an excellent major-league reliever, and perhaps even will be again someday, but today (nor yesterday, nor the day before that …) is not that day.
Trends to Watch: Stop wherever you are: there is a legitimate positive trend to highlight in this section. And this is it: Since returning from the All-Star Break, the best hitter on the team has been Dexter Fowler. Most of his production has come by way of the walk, as his .333/.500/.462 line over 52 plate appearances attests, but that’s not to take anything away from the performance. It’s been sensational, and it’s a real shame that the Cubs haven’t been able to capitalize on that production from the leadoff spot. Tonight was emblematic of the trend: Fowler recorded three hits (one of them a double) in four plate appearances, but failed to score each time. C’est la vie, these days.
Coming Next: The Cubs conclude their series against the Rockies tomorrow afternoon, starting sometime ace Jon Lester (112 DRA-, 89 cFIP) against sometime Rockie major-league pitcher, Eddie Butler (153, 127). The Cubs will start play on Wednesday 2.5 games out of the second wild card spot, and 11.5 games back in the division. Both are low points for the season, which sounds about right. The team could really use some success tomorrow before they head up to Milwaukee to take on the Brewers in a four-game set. After that, the schedule doesn’t get much easier: they’ll head to Pittsburgh to take on the Wild Card-leading Pirates, then back to Wrigley to take on the Giants. It’s been a rough month, and it’s got to get better soon, or the team’s playoff hopes will start to look like the faded dreams of a late spring.
Lead photo courtesy of Caylor Arnold-USA TODAY Sports