In the course of human history, there are times when ordinary people are thrust into harrowing situations that are too daunting to have previously comprehended. But when faced with seemingly insurmountable odds, do we rise to meet these challenges? Do we shrink in the face of incalculable adversity? Heroes are made in these moments, and history, both on the macro and micro levels, are determined by how these events unfold.
Other times, though, we’re just sitting in front of a television for five hours on a summer evening, waiting on the outcome of a baseball game. Tuesday was the latter, and I, like so many of you, saw it all. I’m no hero; I’m just a guy who DVR’d the Brooklyn Nine-Nine rerun.
In what became a grueling, grinding battle of attrition, both for the teams and the viewers, the Cubs would ultimately prevail. Just under five hours after Ben Zobrist homered to lead off the game, Travis Wood got Ivan De Jesus to line out to right field to end the night, and the Cubs went home with the win, 7-2. Amazingly, Zobrist was the only batter on either team to record a multi-hit game.
In the top of the 15th inning, ten innings after the Cubs last scored, Kris Bryant had singled home Zobrist with the winning run. A couple batters later, Javier Baez added a grand slam to put the game away, mercifully. It was Baez’s seventh homer of the season, but his fifth of June, and he’s posted an OPS just shy of .850 for the month.
Lost to posterity was an exceptional start from Jon Lester, who went 7 2/3 innings, striking out four, and allowing just an earned run on four baserunners. Ultimately, Spencer Patton worked 2/3 of an inning to pick up the win, but eight Cubs pitchers combined to allow just two runs on nine baserunners, including three in the extra frames. It was a long night in Cincinnati, so let’s review the highlights.
Top Play (WPA): I’m tempted to damn the WPA, and just put the final out as the top play, but I’m obliged to provide you, the loyal BP-Wrigleyville reader, with the fact-based top play. Bryant’s one out single off of J.J. Hoover, the sixth Reds pitcher of the game, drove home Zobrist with the go-ahead run (+.178). It was Bryant’s first hit of the night, but he added two walks.
Bottom Play (WPA): Eugenio Suarez’s two-out, ninth inning single scored BrandonPhillips, and knotted the game at 2-2 (-.442). It was just Hector Rondon’s second blown save of the season, but both have come in the past two weeks. With Jay Bruce now the winning run on second base, Rondon induced a Billy Hamilton pop out to third. The Reds threat and Rondon’s night were both done, but for us, it was really just getting started.
Key Moment: As I write this, it’s 12:30 EST, and there are no decent late night talk show guests on the horizon, so I’ll keep this brief and put Wood recording the game’s final out. Eugenio Suarez was the game’s 113 and final batter. In Wood’s last 21 starts, dating back to mid-May, he owns a 0.84 WHIP, with an opponent’s OPS under .440.
Trend to Watch: Hey, do you guys remember Jon Lester? He’s that outstanding lefthander who was pitching way back in the early evening hours on Tuesday. He speaks with a slight Texas-twang, even though he’s from Washington state? Yeah. You know who I’m talking about. Anyways, after a May in which he did not go longer than six and 1/3 innings in any of his five starts, Lester went at least seven innings in five of six June outings. He finished the month with a 1.21 ERA, 0.69 WHIP, and a 3.6 percent walk rate. He racked up more than seven times as many strikeouts as walks. In an up and down month for the team, Lester was damn good and is deserving of an All-Star nod.
Coming Next: The series gets an early (cruelly so, in light of tonight) finale, with first pitch scheduled for 11:35 AM CST. Kyle Hendricks goes up against Cody Reed, as the Cubs go for the sweep. Reed will be making his third big league start, all coming this season. He’s given up nine earned runs in 12 innings pitched, after posting a 3.20 ERA and 1.18 WHIP in 11 starts at Triple-A Louisville. The big left-handed pitcher is overwhelmingly a four seam (60 percent) and slider (32 percent) pitcher, but with two strikes his slider usage jumps up to 60 percent. Hendricks, meanwhile, is looking to close out a June in which, to this point, he’s posted a 1.09 WHIP and recorded three times as many strikeouts (33) as walks (11). Enjoy some midweek day baseball, everybody!
Lead photo courtesy David Kohl—USA Today Sports
Trend to watch: Joe Maddon burning bench players for no good reason. (Russell to pinch-bunt, when a pitcher could do that; Coghlan PH for Almora when extra innings were likely.)
Good points. We all love Maddon, but sometimes he might be guilty of getting a little overly cerebral. Or something. But yes, I agree.
It also showcases the folly of a 13 man pitching staff
Great write-up. But I disagree with the notion that you’re not a hero. Accept it.