This piece, written by BP Wrigleyville’s Nate Greabe, forms part of our in-house coverage of the Cubs in the playoffs, “Second City October.” Additional Game Two and NLDS coverage can be found here and here. Early on, this game felt familiar. All the same things that made the Cubs good all year worked in first few innings. The […]
Tag: San Francisco Giants
Second City October: NLDS Game Two Preview, Giants (0-1) at Cubs (1-0)
I’m tempted to lead this preview with Things We Learned From Game One, but baseball doesn’t really work like that. Johnny Cueto is really good; Jon Lester is really, really good; Kelby Tomlinson wears glasses and has a weird name; Javy Baez hits some sweet dingers. (For a somewhat less pithy recap, check out Henry […]
Second City October: What I Am, You Will Be—The Giants Meet the Cubs
Is 2016 richer in intriguing potential playoff series than previous years have been? It certainly seems like it, even without intriguing, now-impossible series like Nationals-Orioles or Cubs-Mets (the 1969 pennant race redux). Already, with Rangers-Blue Jays, we have a rematch of a highly charged playoff from last year, with bad blood spilling into the current season. […]
Game 136 Recap: Cubs 3 Giants 2
For better and for worse (but mostly for better) Jason Heyward’s play today was unlike any game he has played this season. After uncharacteristically dropping a fly ball (which of course was hit by Hunter Pence) in the second inning that led to an unearned run, Heyward collected three hits and drove in all three […]
Game 135 Recap: Giants 3 Cubs 2
You don’t usually expect a game started by Jake Arrieta and Madison Bumgarner to end with you staring slack jawed into the abyss like Krusty the Clown witnessing the antics of Eastern Europe’s favorite cat and mouse team Worker & Parasite for the first time. Generally, if one of those pitchers beats you, you can […]
Game 134 Recap: Cubs 2 Giants 1
Top Play (WPA): Jon Lester might have been the star of this sunny Chicago Friday afternoon, but his batterymate provided the fateful batting blow to fell the Giants. Every half inning featured five hitters or fewer, save the Cubs’ half of the third, in which the streaking Cubs plated both of their runs. Javier Baez, […]
Game 133 Recap: Cubs 5 Giants 4
If it was an action movie, I can’t tell you it was a very good one. Some face-off and car chase in the first 15 minutes, but settled for the following 85 minutes. Then, in the final 10 minutes, after you consumed several bags of popcorn and all of your fingers got sticky, there’s finally some […]
Series Preview, Cubs vs. Giants: September 1-4
Heading into the All-Star break, it was the San Francisco Giants, not the Chicago Cubs, who held the best record in baseball. On the surface, that alone would make this four-game series at Wrigley a pretty intriguing set. But since the break, the Giants have been a bottom-of-the-league 15-27, including an 11-16 August, their worst month’s […]
GAME 42 RECAP: GIANTS 1 CUBS 0
Top Play (WPA): This section is less than exciting tonight. The Cubs’ top play of the night was Denard Span’s short fly out to right with one out and a man on third in the fifth (+.060). More on that inning in a second. Tonight’s top offensive play for the Cubs was equally uninspiring: a two-out, eighth inning […]
Series Preview: Cubs at Giants, May 20-22
If the City of San Francisco can survive the waking nightmare that was Fuller House, the Cubs should feel confident they can survive losing two out of three to the Milwaukee Brewers. Perhaps they can take solace in this fact as they touch down in the City by the Bay for the only time in 2016. While […]