In a divisional rivalry that has been rife with intrigue, particularly since last fall, the last game of this week’s series was bound not to go out with a whimper. This afternoon’s dogfight between the Cubs and Cardinals looked a lot more like what we might expect between these two teams later in the season. Not the relaxing kind of easy wins that perhaps we prefer, but the kinds of wins that show that this Cubs team is capable of scrapping out a hard-fought victory when necessary.
Though this long road series left some Cubs fans thinking at times that the team might be slumping, taken as a whole, they did exactly what you look for from a contending team. And that is playing near-.500 baseball on the road.
Top Play (WPA): Both the top and bottom WPA plays came, surprisingly, in the bottom of the ninth inning today. With the Cubs up 9-8, but with runners on first and second with no-one out, Yadier Molina attempted not one, but two sacrifice bunts before striking out (+.183). Thanks, Yadi!
Before the ninth, Jason Heyward’s second-inning double to right was the most important WPA play. It scored both Addison Russell and Dexter Fowler gave the Cubs a 4-1 lead (+0.174). Though the Cardinals would threaten, this was ultimately a lead that the Cubs would not surrender for the rest of the afternoon.
Bottom Play (WPA): Matt Adams was responsible for both of the most negative WPA plays today. His ninth-inning single moved Stephen Piscotty up to second, before Molina’s strikeout (-.185).
In the seventh inning, Adams hit a solo shot that brought the game within one run (-0.145). The Cardinals had narrowed the gap significantly in the 6th, but Adams’s home run off of Travis Wood gave the Cardinals their best chance to steal this game away.
Key Moment: There were certainly plenty to choose from this afternoon, but in the second inning the Cubs gave themselves the scoring cushion that proved much needed later on. Specifically, the aforementioned Jason Heyward double. Not just for its immediate value to the game, but for the glimmer of hope that it might provide to the much-anticipated Heyward warm-up now that he’s out of the early part of the season, and also because of his return from his ultimately minor injury in San Francisco.
Ben Zobrist following that up with a two-run single wasn’t too shabby, either. He continues to play a large role in carrying this offense, and furthering credibility to the claim that he might have superpowers, his work today was valuable on a micro level.
And Kris Bryant’s three-run bomb in the sixth against See-Hwan Oh proved to be vital insurance against a late Cardinals’ comeback.
Trend to Watch: After so many games of scratching across just a handful of runs, the last two games have featured scoring more like what Cubs fans had become accustomed to seeing earlier in the season. This morning, Carlos Portocarrero discussed the struggles that had finally hit the offense, but as the league adjusted to them, it seems perhaps that they have adjusted back. Today, they tested the endurance of Carlos Martinez and pushed him from the game in the fifth inning at 103 pitches. This, again, marks a trend closer to what fans are likely to see from the Cubs offense more often than not. It’s also a product of Joe Maddon’s lineup, which tilted in favor of left-handed hitters and proved successful in capitalizing on Martinez’ split weaknesses.
Though perhaps not a trend yet, today marked a rare bad start for Jake Arrieta. Well, relatively speaking, anyway. This was just the third time this season that he’s pitched fewer than seven innings and the first time he’s allowed four runs in a start of any length. In 2015, he threw less than six innings in just three starts all season, but the last one came on June 16, so it might be hard to draw too much from what we’ve seen of him so far. But days like today have become such a rarity from Arrieta that they tend to stand out perhaps more than they should.
Coming Next: Today is “getaway day,” so the Cubs will head home to Chicago and enjoy a much needed off day following what has been a grueling ten-day road trip. On Friday, they will begin a series with the Phillies at 1:20 pm CT, when Jon Lester will take the mound against Philadelphia’s Adam Morgan.
Lead photo courtesy Billy Hurst—USA Today Sports
OMG, though this game was going to be lost.