USATSI_8859097_168382903_lowres

Game 24 Recap: Cubs 7 Pirates 2

For the first time since that glorious Wild Card playoff game last October, the Cubs returned to PNC Park to play Pittsburgh. And in what can only be termed the oddest bit of nostalgia of the entire 2016 season thus far, Clint Hurdle and the Pirates decided to throw back to that playoff by plunking a Cubs batter in retaliation for a perceived purpose pitch. Joe Maddon leapt to the top of the dugout, and, for the first time in his Cubs tenure, uttered words that were no more than four letters long. Unfortunately, the Pirates couldn’t respond as they were too busy hiding Gatorade coolers from Sean Rodriguez.

It was definitely one of the weirder 7-2 victories we’ll see this year. But no less satisfying than the 17 wins that preceded it.

Top Play (WPA): Cubs batters had been working Gerrit Cole’s pitch count the entire night and drove him from the game with an unsightly 105 pitches in only 4 2/3 innings. With the Cubs up 3-1 in the fifth and the bases loaded with two outs, Clint Hurdle took out his ace and brought in A.J. Schugel to try and stop the offensive juggernaut that is David Ross. But on a 2-2 pitch, Grandpa Rossy reached out to get ahold of an outside pitch and poked a looping single into short right field (+.128). Two runs scored to make it 5-1, and it was Werther’s Originals for everybody.

Bottom Play (WPA): One of the downsides of playing the Pirates is that this is one of the 19 times a year where it’s significantly less fun to watch Andrew McCutchen unleash hell on a baseball and be awesome at everything he does. Such was the case in the first inning when Jason Hammel put a pitch right on the outside corner but unfortunately left it up. McCutchen took it the other way and it went slightly farther than David Ross’s opposite field hit—all the way over the wall in deep right center for a quick 1-0 Pirate lead (-.112).

Key Moment: With the Pirates still up 1-0 in the third and Tommy LaStella on base with two outs, Gerrit Cole looked like he had thrown strike three past Anthony Rizzo on the inside corner to get out of the inning unscathed. But home plate ump Laz Diaz is a lot of things—an ex-marine, the star of Pepsi commercials—but an umpire whose strike zone agrees with PitchTrax is not one of them. Diaz called the pitch a ball and with this reprieve, Rizzo choked up and put a brilliant two-strike swing on a pitch out over the plate to smoke a double out into right field and tie up the score at one.

Trend to Watch: It’s May 2, and the Cubs have yet to have a losing streak of more than one (1) game this year. To steal a line from Annie Hall, love is too weak a word for what I feel about this team. I lurve them. I loave them. I luff them.

Up Next: There are 18 more games of weirdness and odd revenge fantasies between these two teams left and the next one is tomorrow night at 6:05. Ex-Met Jonathon Niese takes the mound for the Bucs, and his numbers (3-0, 5.08 ERA, 5.96 FIP) are reason enough for Brian Kenny to do another eight minutes on how the Win is a worse idea than 10 Cent Beer Night. He is opposed by Jake Arrieta (5-0, 0.0000000001 FIP, 525600 ERA+). OK, yes, those numbers are made up. But you had to double check just to make sure, didn’t you?

Lead photo courtesy Charles LeClaire—USA Today Sports

Related Articles

5 comments on “Game 24 Recap: Cubs 7 Pirates 2”

PolitiJim (@politiJim)

” Two runs scored to make it 5-1, and it was Werther’s Originals for everybody.”

Just brilliant.

theguz

I was gonna doublecheck Jake’s FIP; you are aware that Rondon’s is -0.43, right?

Exceptional writing, Ken–keep it up!

Ken Schultz

Thanks!

And that’s awesome. So every time Rondon takes the mound, it’s like the Cubs have figured out a way to score on defense. Beautiful.

theguz

Either that, or the FIP folks need Rondon to start pitching with no D behind him until he gets back “up” to 0.00.

theguz

2nd thought, FIP being what it is, there won’t be an impact on his FIP by removing the guys behind him; maybe his C instead?

Leave a comment

Use your Baseball Prospectus username