Some games are so rich in drama and sheer athletic achievement that it inspires less a standard recap production, and more the type of siring prose that has the writer feeling as if he/she belongs among the poets. Other games are more standard fare, causing the writer to flail desperately in hopes of a catchy intro, peppering it instead with empty, flowery, and word-count filling language. Which category do you think encapsulates Wednesday night’s game?
Jorge Soler and David Ross each homered, Jon Lester picked up win number 13, Carl Edwards, Jr. and Travis Wood combined for 2 and 1/3 innings of scoreless relief, and the Cubs came away with a 6-1 win over the Milwaukee Brewers. The Cubs went ahead in the first inning and never looked back. The victory moved the Cubs moved to 33 games over .500 for the first time since September 2008.
Lester was good, if not economical. Despite allowing just five base runners, he needed 118 pitches to get through 6 and 2/3 innings. Lester surrendered two walks, and had seven three-ball counts. But it marked his fourth consecutive start allowing six or fewer baserunners and recording six strikeouts.
The Cubs have taken the first three games of the series. Read below for the highlights, including the Soler home run still hovering in space above Waveland.
Top Play (WPA): The Cubs raced out to an early lead. Dexter Fowler (walk) and Kris Bryant (hit-by-pitch) reached base to open the game, and an Anthony Rizzo flyout advanced Fowler to third base. With one out and runners on the corner, Ben Zobrist singled (one of his two hits on the night) to right field, scoring Fowler and moving Bryant to third (+.123). It would give the Cubs a lead they would not relinquish.
Bottom Play (WPA): As we mentioned above, Lester’s final line was excellent, but he did labor at times. In the third inning, singles by Chris Carter and Jake Elmore put runners on the corners with two outs. Martin Maldonado, who owns a .258 TAv, but a 14.6 walk rate, then worked a walk to load the bases (-.021). Lester would escape trouble by inducing a groundout from Jimmy Nelson, keeping the score 5-0.
Key Moment: In a game relatively devoid of drama, who doesn’t want to acknowledge a David Ross bomb? His third inning homer off of Jimmy Nelson was his eighth of the season, giving him his second highest total since 2007. Ross’s .203 ISO entering the contest is his best mark since 2009. The #YearLongRetirementParty keeps rolling.
Trend to Watch: Soler is trending postively, and some might even say very positively. Entering tonight’s game, he was hitting .360/.429/.760 since returning to the lineup. After struggling with fastballs all season (.333 slugging percentage against fourseamers and .261 against sinkers), Soler has hit all four home runs in August off fastballs. Speaking of home runs, here’s his 450 foot shot off of Nelson:
A #Statcast-projected 450 feet?
Yeah, @JorgeSoler68 is ALL about that.https://t.co/xHqtS8pQqX pic.twitter.com/KMhO7k7N2V
— #Statcast (@statcast) August 18, 2016
Soler would add a single later in the night, but it’s the home run that’ll have people talking.
Coming Next: On Thursday afternoon, the Cubs go for the ever-satisfying four-game series sweep. Jake Arrieta will go up against Brewers right-hander Zach Davies. In Arrieta’s first start against the Brewers this season, he threw a season-low four curves. He picked up the win that day, going five innings, allowing one earned run on six strikeouts and seven base runners. During his recent three-start run of success, Arrieta has jumped his sinker usage to 74 percent, while sprinkling in the curve (11 percent) and slider (7 percent). Davies was solid against the Cubs in July, going 6 and 1/3 innings, and surrendering just one earned run on five baserunners. He relies primarily on his four seam fastball (48 percent), change (20 percent), and cutter (13 percent). The Cubs left-handed batters should be on the lookout for Davies’s change, as against lefties his change rate goes up to 30 percent. First pitch is scheduled for 1:20 CST.
Lead photo courtesy Dennie Wierzbicki—USA Today Sports