What you need to know: Well, that wasn’t a whole lot of fun, was it? The Cubs offense did some damage to baseball’s finest starting pitcher in Clayton Kershaw, but it wasn’t enough to silence a Dodger offense that’s currently clicking on all cylinders. Jon Lester wasn’t good in a short start by his standards, and […]
Author: Zach Bernard
Game 46 Recap: Dodgers 4, Cubs 0
What you need to know: The Cubs, having taken three of four from the visiting San Francisco Giants to conclude an impressive and encouraging 7-2 homestand, were no match for Los Angeles Dodgers lefty Alex Wood, who threw five dominant shutout innings to extend his scoreless streak to 25 1/3 innings. The Cubs would open their […]
What To Expect From Eddie Butler
Amid the struggles of the starting rotation and an overtaxed bullpen following 13 straight days of games—which included 13- and 18-inning games as well as a doubleheader—the Cubs have called upon latest reclamation project Eddie Butler to save the day. Okay, maybe that’s a little unfair; in 159 ⅓ innings since his debut in 2014, […]
With Cubs, LeMahieu Showed All-Star Potential
In 2016, Colorado Rockies second baseman D.J. LeMahieu produced a .348 batting average by season’s end. LeMahieu played in 146 games for the Rockies and sustained his average across 552 at bats, qualifying him for the National League batting title. It was a pretty remarkable season for the 27-year-old infielder, who logged an impressive .911 […]
Eric Karros’ Big Day Against the Yankees in 2003
Interleague play was first introduced as a regular season indulgence in 1997, and some purists—including yours truly—never came around on the novelty. This skepticism was helped by having an American League team on the other side of Chicago; the argument of “seeing players you normally wouldn’t” always rang hollow. And, with the rapid development and growth […]
Game 23 Recap: Cubs 7, Red Sox 4
What You Need to Know: Things did not look good for John Lackey and the Cubs early on, as Lackey dueled with home plate umpire Bill Welke in the first and seemed frustrated—more so than usual—in the first few innings. He surrendered Boston’s first two runs on a Jackie Bradley Jr. single and Andrew Benintendi sacrifice fly, […]
Game 11 Recap: Pirates 8, Cubs 7
What you need to know: The Cubs gave Jake Arrieta a 4-0 lead in the first inning, and eventually the Cubs led 6-2 into the late innings. But the bullpen could not hold the lead, and a three-run blast from Andrew McCutchen put the Pirates ahead in the late innings. Despite the best efforts of a late […]
Game 4 Recap: Brewers 2, Cubs 1
What you need to know: The Cubs took an early lead thanks to Ben Zobrist’s first home run of the season in the top of the second inning off Brewers starter Jimmy Nelson. Brett Anderson held the lead down nicely through five innings in his first Cubs start, before a wild pitch and opposite field […]
The Candelario Conundrum
The road to the majors has been a long one for Jeimer Candelario. The switch-hitting infielder has toiled in the Cubs’ organization since he was signed in October 2010. Candelario finally had his coming out party in the 2015 Arizona Fall League, hitting five homers in 21 games for the Mesa Solar Sox while logging […]
Eddie Butler’s Second Act in Chicago
Eddie Butler was once seen as a key asset to the Colorado Rockies’ future. Drafted by the Rockies 46th overall in the 2012 June Amateur Draft, the unassuming righty impressed in his early minor league days, breezing through two levels of A-ball and finishing the 2013 season with six starts for the Double-A Tulsa Drillers. […]