Top Play (WPA): With one out in the seventh inning, Aaron Altherr laced what looked to be an eventual double into center field. Dexter Fowler appeared to chase the ball with middling effort and took a poor route in attempting to cut the ball off, eventually dropping the ball and allowing Altherr to cruise into third […]
Tag: Recap
Game 141 Recap: Phillies 7 Cubs 5
Top Play (WPA): Unfortunately for the Cubs, the top play in this game was of the walk-off variety. To catch you up, the Cubs had carried a 1-0 lead up until Justin Grimm had an implosion in the bottom of the seventh, which turned the score around to 5-1. The Cubs rallied to tie it […]
Game 139 Recap: Cubs 5 Phillies 1
Top Play (WPA): Through four innings, Phillies starting pitcher Adam Morgan confounded Cubs hitters, allowing just two singles and no real threats. The fifth inning appeared to be more of the same, as he retired Jake Arrieta and Addison Russell to start the inning. Dexter Fowler then singled, bringing up Austin Jackson with two outs. Morgan quickly […]
Game 138 Recap: Cardinals 4 Cubs 3
Top Play (WPA): The top WPA play of this deflating loss was Stephen Piscotty’s two-run double in the eighth (+.508). It put the Cardinals up 4-3, and turned what looked like a possible series sweep into a very disappointing afternoon. Piscotty’s double came off of Fernando Rodney, but it (again) was actually a rough outing by Pedro Strop […]
Game 137 Recap: Cubs 8 Cardinals 5
Top Play (WPA): Considering that the Cubs are playing the Cardinals, you’d think after banging out a 9-0 win against Lance Lynn yesterday that there might be some sort of letdown with Michael Wacha taking the mound against Jason Hammel. But not so much. Austin Jackson, who started in center field to get Dexter Fowler […]
Game 136 Recap: Cubs 9, Cardinals 0
Top Play (WPA): This one was never in doubt. The Cubs have an opportunity to gain ground on both Pittburgh and St. Louis this week, and the Cubs’ 9-0 victory over their arch rivals is a good start to a key series. The game’s top two plays both came from the Cubs’ sparkplug, Dexter Fowler. […]
GAME 135 RECAP: CUBS 6 DIAMONDBACKS 4
Top Play (WPA): Everyone loves a sweep, and this one was especially sweet, given how trying the series with the Reds ended up being. Defense, offense, and pitching all came together in this one, as the Cubs played a great overall game and came away with the win because of it. There were a number […]
Game 134 Recap: Cubs 2 Diamondbacks 0
Top Play (WPA): Dexter Fowler hit a home run off a hanging Robbie Ray breaking ball to lead off the bottom of the fifth (+.109). The dinger padded the Cubs lead and Jake Arrieta would make sure it held up. The homer was Fowler’s 16th of the year—a career high—and undoubtedly contributed even more value to his 3.5 WARP […]
Game 132 Recap: Reds 7 Cubs 4
Top Play (WPA): I wish I was writing about something different here, but I’m not. This game looked like it might be the Cubs’ to win—see ‘Key Moment’, below—but it slipped out of their grasp seconds after the ball slipped out of Hector Rondon’s right hand and collided, shortly thereafter, with Joey Votto’s bat. That home run (+0.485) […]
Game 131 Recap: Cubs 5 Reds 4
Top Play (WPA): This game never quite looked as rough as it probably felt for most Cubs fans, but I think that has a lot to do with losing five of their last six and the hangover from the 13-6 beatdown in the first game of this series. But the Cubs kept it fairly close, […]