The biggest home run in Nationals history will, luckily, only be a sentence or so in the annals of Cubs playoff history. Bryce Harper’s monster two-run shot in the eighth inning of Saturday’s Game Two, a rude bludgeoning of a Carl Edwards, Jr., hanging curve, tied the ballgame at three, and Washington promptly grabbed the […]
Author: Zack Moser
NLDS Game 2 Recap: Nationals 6, Cubs 3
What You Need to Know: Jon Lester reprised Kyle Hendricks’s great performance from Friday night, and Willson Contreras and Anthony Rizzo added home runs to put the Cubs ahead early. A hung curveball and assist from the wind resulted in a five-spot for the Nationals in the eighth, however, and Washington evened the series at […]
Zack’s Sack: A Wrigleyville Mailbag, Vol. 9, NLDS Edition
Welcome to the National League Division Series edition of Zack’s Sack, the BP Wrigleyville mailbag! The Cubs square off versus the Nationals in Washington on Friday, and the two teams’ starting pitching situations are in surprising flux. Many have tabbed the Cubs as the underdogs, despite their status as the reigning World Series champions and […]
Kyle Hendricks: Ace
Following a sterling start versus St. Louis to close out his 2017 regular season, Kyle Hendricks once again dropped his career ERA below three. It was his 100th career appearance and his 99th career start, and it brought his season ERA to 3.03. A year removed from an ERA title and a third-place Cy Young […]
Game Recap 158: Cubs 5, Cardinals 1
What You Need to Know: Through six innings, it appeared as though claiming the division crown would have to wait one more day for the Cubs (or, at least until the Milwaukee game ended). Michael Wacha stymied Cubs hitters while John Lackey dueled with Cardinals hitters almost as effectively, but a breakthrough sixth plated five […]
Revisiting Jose Quintana
With a convincing victory on Monday over the Cardinals, the Cubs eliminated their arch rivals from division contention and whittled their magic number down to one. Barring an unlikely collapse, the Cubs are heading to their third straight postseason appearance for only the second time in team history, and the first time since 1906-1908. The […]
Rise of the Role Players
Heading into the All-Star break, the Cubs were two games under .500 and 5.5 games behind first place. How did the defending World Series champions end up in such a place? It wasn’t the two big boppers—Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo had .928 and .894 OPS marks, respectively. Rather, it was a combination of inconsistent […]
The Cubs Might Have a Looming Contact Problem
Two offseasons ago, the Cubs landed big free agent targets Jason Heyward and Ben Zobrist to shore up their inconsistent offense and provide a boost to an already elite defensive unit. The 2015 Cubs tore up the National League in the second half and finished with 97 wins, but their bats fell silent in a […]
Game 133 Recap: Cubs 6, Braves 2
What You Need to Know: The Cubs struck early, putting together a parade of hits and walks and grounders that plated two runs in the first. Kyle Hendricks turned in a brilliant start after walking three in the first two innings, exiting with two outs in the seventh after surrendering his second run of the […]
Game 130 Recap: Cubs 6, Pirates 1
What You Need to Know: Seven sterling innings from Mike Montgomery headlined a convincing victory over the Pirates, who fall to eight games back in the NL Central. Timely hitting early from Ian Happ and Anthony Rizzo gave the Cubs all the runs they needed, and Javier Baez flashed his glove and arm at shortstop […]