There were two schools of thought when the Cubs lost the first game of this series to one of the worst teams in baseball (literally): The more prevalent was “Hey, that’s baseball. Shrug.” But there was also a surprisingly vocal minority of “Hey, what the hell? The Braves are one of the worst teams in baseball—we shouldn’t […]
Tag: Recap
Game 56 Recap: Cubs 6 Phillies 4
It shouldn’t have been this close, not when Dexter Fowler, Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, and Jorge Soler all had multi-hit games; not when Jon Lester faced the minimum in seven of his eight innings. Here’s how it went down: Top Play (WPA): “You go, we go.” Or, as has become a familiar pattern this season, when […]
Game 55 Recap: Diamondbacks 3 Cubs 2
The Cubs and Jake Arrieta lost a weird one at Wrigley today but finished up what was, overall, an extremely successful homestand. Let’s recap: Top Play (WPA): Arrieta’s second inning double, which he hit 378 feet to center before it popped out of Michael Bourn’s glove up against the ivy, was the top offensive play of […]
Game 51 Recap: Cubs 2 Dodgers 1
Top Play (WPA): Mike Bolsinger held the Cubs hitless the first time through the order, though in very Bolsinger-ian fashion, he did so in a less-than-threatening manner, hitting both Dexter Fowler and Javier Baez with pitches and allowing another walk to Jason Heyward. The Cubs were determined to improve the second time around, and following a Dexter Fowler walk […]
Game 50 Recap: Dodgers 5 Cubs 0
Top Play (WPA): Jake Arrieta doesn’t exactly lose his cool with the bases loaded. In fact, coming into play tonight, he’d retired the last 13 batters he’d faced with the bases juiced. And after tonight’s action, you can make it 14. In the top of the seventh inning, with the score still tied at zero and his pitch […]
Game 49 Recap: Cubs 2 Dodgers 0
The following things are always important to keep in mind when watching MLB baseball on Memorial Day: Whatever the announcers might say, Memorial Day does not mark a milestone at which numbers and the standings begin to mean something. Rany Jazayerli did once find that in-season performance starts to predict future performance at a team level […]
Game 48 Recap: Cubs 7 Phillies 2
This game–and this whole series, really–went about as expected, given what we think we know about the Phillies and Cubs. The former were projected to be quite bad, and while they’ve won more than half their games thus far, they’re still bad. The latter were projected to be quite good, and they’ve been very, very […]
Game 46 Recap: Cubs 6, Phillies 2
The Cubs are back in town again, after a long, trying road trip, and they came away with a soggy victory on Friday. The skies opened up in the first inning of this one, pouring down rain on the Cubs, Phillies, and fans indiscriminately, and a delay looked probable. The wind shifted several times, alternately […]
Game 40 Recap: Cubs 8 Giants 1
So much news. If only it was all good… Top Play (WPA): The Cubs’ big inning came early when they shelled Jake Peavy for a five spot in the second. Consecutive singles from Soler and Montero had the Cubs in business with no outs. Baez nearly legged out a bunt hit, but had to settle for […]
Game 39 Recap: Brewers 5 Cubs 3
Top Play (WPA): In the culmination of a frustrating series for the Cubs (frustrating for both teams, really), the Cubs’ top play came on the second pitch of the game. Before the sizable crowd of Cubs fans settled into their Miller Park seats, Dexter Fowler sent a rocket into the right-field bleachers off of Junior […]