The Cubs are in a weird place right now. On one hand, they’re looking much improved after the break and taking series wins against the Rangers, Mets, and Brewers has calmed much of the angst that had so defined the month of July for Cubs fans. But on the other hand, there’s a swirl of negativity that hasn’t really touched this organization in many years brought on by the addition of a new closer whose baggage is hefty. Where the team goes from here in both regards will draw even greater attention to a group already flanked by it since the first days of spring training, so maybe the added watchfulness from the baseball world won’t really feel that different.
Focusing in on just tonight, it was a game that didn’t really take shape until the very end. For the first two-thirds of the game, this looked like an unlikely pitchers’ duel made even more improbable by the fact that the White Sox starter Anthony Ranaudo was responsible for the first run of the game. Of course, the final score gives no indication of that, as the Cubs put together a monster eighth inning to bury any south side hopes of ensuring a series win tonight.
Top Play (WPA): In the seventh inning with a 1-1 tie and two outs, Jason Heyward drew a walk ahead of Javy Baez, who homered on a 3-2 curveball to change the scope of the game (+.338). Ranaudo tried to use his fastball in the at-bat, but could not locate it, throwing it for a ball three of the four times he used it, and the strike came only because Baez fouled that pitch off.
Bottom Play (WPA): As I mentioned earlier, this moment came as a surprise. Not just because it was on a solo home run to the pitcher, but because Ranaudo had seven total at-bats prior to tonight, and not a single major league hit. All the same, he took an 0-1 fastball just over the wall to right center to give the White Sox a 1-0 lead (-.147). This would be the only scoring they would do, as Jason Hammel and the bullpen stymied them almost completely otherwise.
Key Moment: While it could be argued that the Baez home run was the catalyst for what turned into a lot of late game scoring, Kris Bryant’s home run in the 6th inning broke not only the scoring drought, but the hitting drought as well. Until that point, the Cubs had shown no signs of being able to figure out what to do against Ranaudo, and things appeared rather bleak. Bryant worked ahead in the count on two pitches outside of the zone to start the at-bat and then tagged a 3-1 curveball.
Trend to Watch: Though it wasn’t a save, Aroldis Chapman’s presence in the game was commanding, and it will obviously be even more intriguing to see in the tight situations that he’s been brought to Chicago for, whenever those will come.
Jason Heyward keeps moving down in the order and keeps struggling at the plate. He’s hit only sparsely since returning from the All-Star break, and doesn’t appear to have changed the trend in terms of what’s sparking his struggles at the plate. An outright benching seems unlikely even now, but it is deep enough into the season to show real concern about whether he’ll right the ship or not.
The offense looked rather flat through the first five and a third innings tonight, but showed once again how capable they are of scoring in bunches whenever the moment arises. Tomorrow night’s pitching matchup is far, far less favorable to the Cubs, but the back end of the White Sox bullpen has shown real vulnerability, so if John Lackey can keep the Sox from scoring as much as possible, a series split looks possible.
Coming Next: The four-game series concludes tomorrow night at Wrigley at 7:05 pm CT on CSN and 670 AM on the radio. Chris Sale (14-3, 3.18 ERA) makes his return from his jersey-cutting suspension to take the ball for the south side, and John Lackey (7-7, 3.79 ERA) has pitching duties for the Cubs. The Cubs will continue interleague play as they will stay at Wrigley to host the Mariners, and the White Sox return to AL Central play with a trip to Minnesota.
Lead photo courtesy Patrick Gorski—USA Today Sports