Somewhere Ernie Banks is smiling. Doubleheaders may not be Joe Maddon’s favorite, but he has to be happy with the fact that the Cubs won easily and without drama in both games of today’s doubleheader. These wins are an appropriate balm for frustrating losses to the Cardinals on Saturday and Sunday. In the night game, the Cubs rode the arm of Jason Hammel, who has been a pleasant surprise so far in the second half of the season.
As for the offense, the win in the day game came without the need for a display of power, but in the nightcap, Javy Baez flashed his trademark ability to launch a ball into the seats and did so in a moment that would prove crucial.
Top Play (WPA): The top play came on the first run the Cubs scored, which came in the third inning. It played out a bit surprisingly as David Ross would open the scoring opportunity with a walk after Baez flew out to center and Hammel singled. Ross advanced on the hit, and then after Matt Szczur popped out to first, Kris Bryant ripped a single to left to score Ross from second (+.122).
Bottom Play (WPA): The Hernan Perez home run off of Travis Wood in the ninth inning might seem like the obvious choice here because it’s the only time the Brewers scored all day, but their highest win probability actually came later that inning when they loaded the bases against Aroldis Chapman. Specifically, Keon Broxton’s single that moved Chris Carter to third and Jake Elmore to second (-.044). Thankfully, this came with two outs and Chapman was able to strike out the next batter, Martin Maldonado, to secure the win.
Key Moment: It would be wrong to glaze over how well Hammel pitched tonight, so that deserves first billing here, though there is one other moment worth mentioning, but we’ll get to that. In his 110 pitch performance, Hammel gave up just two hits and walked only three. Both hits were singles, so the Brewers were effectively shut down by the time the game was placed in the capable hands of the bullpen. Hammel also struck out seven and went 2-for-3 at the plate with a double to boot.
That said, the sixth inning was pivotal. Until that point, the game had sat at 1-0 from the third inning, and had it stayed there going into the ninth, we might still be watching this one play out.
But, the offense took off in the sixth, starting with Ben Zobrist’s doubled to left and then was driven in by Willson Contreras’ single to right to give the Cubs a slightly more comfortable 2-0 lead.
It was the Baez home run, though, that sealed this, and stands out as a key moment of the night. With Contreras standing on first, Baez waited through a pickoff attempt, a called strike on a slider, another pickoff attempt, and then he crushed a fastball to left-center for his 13th homer of the season.
Trend to Watch: Again, Hammel’s pitching in the stretch is noteworthy and something to be considered carefully going forward. Early in the season, I wrote about the possibility of him sustaining his success of the first two months, and though I did not anticipate potato chips playing a role, it’s been a pleasant surprise to see that he is not only still pitching well, but quite a bit better than what would be expected of a fourth or fifth starter. More recently, Ryan Davis wrote about the possible fix to Hammel’s struggles, and the impact on the rotation and the team that his continued success could have should not be overlooked.
Coming Next: There will be little rest for the weary, as these two teams are right back at it tomorrow night. The Cubs (75-43) will send Jon Lester to the mound against Jimmy Nelson of the Brewers (52-66). Lester (12-4, 2.93) is coming off of a six strikeout effort against the Cardinals on Thursday that ended in an extra innings win. Nelson (6-12, 4.07), comes in after giving up three runs in five innings against the Reds in a losing effort. Tomorrow night’s game is at 7:05 pm and can be followed on TV on CSN or the radio at 670 AM.
Lead photo courtesy Caylor Arnold—USA Today Sports