I picked the wrong week to get comfortable with this Cub team. They haven’t looked very good over the last three days, notwithstanding Clay Holmes’ fantastic outing and a couple of really timely swings. After 39 runs over a five-game stretch, the Cubs follow up with seven runs in the following three games. Feast and famine. Another little (hopefully) mini slump has arrived. This is the not fun part. Fortunately, the history of this team suggests it probably won’t be long.
Unfortunately, while they were only scoring seven over three days, they’ve allowed 27 over their last five. One turn through the rotation. Considering there was a shutout by Cub pitching during that stretch, that’s a pretty bad turn through the rotation. So nothing is really clicking right now. As we’ve seen from this team before, it was just clicking on all cylinders and then it went away. All teams have ups and downs, but this team has some decently low lows for being a pretty good team. A reminder that while this team COULD win a World Series, it’s always going to remain an uphill climb.
But I said I wasn’t going to reality check you anymore. You are playing on expert level right now. You know better. They got this. It’s gonna flip. So we’re going to just turn the page and forget this day that was only glorious if you were a Cardinal (or anti-Cub) fan. Otherwise, it was fairly miserable.
Better luck next time.
Three Positives:
- Michael Conforto had just two at bats, but made the most of them with a three-run homer.
- Pedro Ramirez had two hits in four at bats. One was a double. He scored once.
- Seiya Suzuki had a hit and a walk. The hit was a double. He scored a run.
Game 124, August 15: Cardinals 8, Cubs 4 (72-52)
Reminder: Heroes and Goats are determined by WPA scores and are in no way subjective.
THREE HEROES:
- Superhero: Michael Conforto (.206). 1-2, HR, 3 RBI, R
- Hero: Pedro Ramirez (.072). 2-4, 2B, R
- Sidekick: Tyrone Taylor (.030). 1-2
THREE GOATS:
- Billy Goat: Matthew Boyd (-.424). 4.2 IP, 5 H, 3 BB, 7 ER, 2 K (L 8-2)
- Goat: Miguel Amaya (-.117). 1-3, 2 DP
- Kid: Alex Bregman (-.103). 1-4, DP
WPA Play of the Game: Michael Conforto’s two-out, three-run homer in the second briefly tied the game at three. (.257)
Cardinals Play of the Game: Joshua Baez hit a two-run homer with two outs in the first inning to give the Cardinals a 3-0 lead. (.172)
Cubs Player of the Game:
Game 123 Winner: Clay Holmes received 64 of 84 votes.
Rizzo Award Standings: (Top 5/Bottom 5)
The award is named for Anthony Rizzo, who finished first in this category three of the first four years it was in existence and four times overall. He also recorded the highest season total ever at +65.5. The point scale is three points for a Superhero down to negative three points for a Billy Goat.
- Pete Crow-Armstrong +25
- Alex Bregman +19
- Carson Kelly +14.5
- Shōta Imanaga +14
- Trent Thornton +13.5
- Phil Maton -10
- Nico Hoerner -11
- Jameson Taillon -13
- Dansby Swanson -17
- Caleb Thielbar -19.5
Scoreboard Watching: Padres lose, six behind Cubs. Phillies win, six behind Cubs. Diamondbacks win, six behind Cubs (they beat the Braves, one ahead of Cubs). Brewers win, four ahead of Cubs (they beat the Dodgers, two ahead of Cubs).
Up Next: The third and final game of the series with the Cardinals. It feels insane, but this is the last meeting of the year between these two teams. The season series is tied with six wins apiece. Winner takes all Sunday. Edward Cabrera (5-4, 5.10) makes his first start since June 23. He hasn’t pitched against the Cardinals this year. Hunter Dobbins (6-4, 3.82) starts for the Cardinals. The 8th round pick of the Red Sox in 2021 (226 overall) pitched July 27 against the Cubs and allowed four runs in 5.1 innings. He’s pitching very well right now (2-3, 3.16) over his last seven starts. He’s thrown an even nine innings in relief against the Cubs, allowing five runs and did record a save.
Find a way. Win a series.