The Cubs win 4-3 in 11 innings.
If Monday’s night made part of Cubs fandom antsy, then a lot of skin was crawling Tuesday night in Chi-town. Always hear me clearly, I’m not throwing it back just because it may not have been a fully satisfying victory. There was a lot of good. No one gifted the Cubs a win. Certainly, over 162 games, there will be games when the Cubs do everything right and come up short anyway. I don’t know that these things even out, but they do cut both ways.
Let’s single out some of the good. Cade Horton pitched into the seventh. Unfortunately, the one batter he faced in the seventh homered to tie the game at two. Extra-inning runs are unearned. The Cubs bullpen did not yield an earned run in five innings of work. I don’t know for sure if you’ve noticed, but the Cubs bullpen has really turned things around. Over the last two weeks, the bullpen has been lights out. And it still remains remarkable that the one game the bullpen did falter actually ended in a loss. Bad sequencing.
On the offensive side, Ian Happ had a pair of hits. He singled late in the game Monday. He now has three hits in his last six at bats. Perhaps he’s getting back comfortable after the injury and no rehab stint. Kyle Tucker reached base four times in five plate appearances. Michael Busch had a game-tying single in the 11th. Matt Shaw had a pair of hits, a pair of steals and the walk-off single to win it. Reese McGuire threw out two of three baserunners.
Two overarching things before we move towards numbers. First, a little irony. The Cubs made a lot of solid contact Tuesday night and didn’t have much to show for it. They did lead for a good while, but ultimately had to go 11 innings to win. They ultimately tied and won the game in the 11th on a couple of balls that were not struck particularly well. Particularly Busch’s game-tying single, which was a check swing bloop to left. And Shaw’s game winner was more of a floater into no man’s land than a scalded line drive.
The other thought was that the Cubs almost literally stole this game. They attempted seven steals, being successful six times. Both the tying and winning runs advanced by way of stolen bases. That part you surely remember. Amazingly, the other two runs that scored back in the fourth also stole bases. The Cubs aren’t particularly an aggressive baserunning team. There are a number of metrics showing that they run the bases less aggressively and play station to station more than most teams. But, when they do run, they’ve generally been pretty good at it. The Cubs are third in baseball, two steals behind the Brewers (who have played one more game) and Rays (who have played one fewer). The Brewers have five more caught stealings than the Cubs and the Rays three more. Fourteen teams have been caught stealing more than the Cubs.
Since I’m there, I’ll note that the Cubs lead the MLB in hits, runs and runs batted in. Have I ever noted that this team is special?
Pitch Counts:
- Rockies: 138 (11 IP), 44 BF
- Cubs: 165 (11 IP), 42 BF
The Rockies number would be a good one over even eight innings. Over 11, it’s terrific. The Cubs appeared to have an aggressive approach to Germán Márquez. It didn’t really work save for one decent inning that yielded two runs. It didn’t stop though. Two different Rockies had eight-pitch innings. Amazingly, one of them walked a hitter. They finally made Tyler Kinley work when their backs were against the wall in the 11th, Kinley’s second inning of work. Kinley is the only one of four relievers that the Rockies will even have to think twice about using Wednesday and 28 pitches isn’t obscene for the front end of a back-to-back.
On the Cubs side, Cade Horton tried to give them some length and only threw 83 pitches. One wonders if that last ball had held up in the wind if he might have been allowed a few more hitters. Caleb Thielbar pitched in a third straight game. I can’t remember the last time a pitcher threw in four straight without an off day. Ryan Brasier only faced one batter but threw for the third time in four games. Ryan Pressly pitched a second straight game. Chris Flexen threw 24 pitches. I think Craig Counsell would have to think twice about using any of the four tomorrow. The Cubs might be extremely short handed.
Three Stars:
- Cade Horton gets the first spot. He pitched well. I don’t care who he was facing. He was long gone when it ended, but they’ve won all four games he’s started.
- Matt Shaw drives in the winner, has a pair of hits, steals a couple of bases, scores a run, continued playing a strong third base.
- Michael Busch drove in the tying run, his spot was the game winner. He also made a nice play defensively, rushing on a bunt and nullifying a sacrifice attempt.
Game 55, May 27: Cubs 4, Rockies 3 (34-21)
Fangraphs
Reminder: Heroes and Goats are determined by WPA scores and are in no way subjective.
THREE HEROES:
- Superhero: Matt Shaw (.289). 2-5, RBI, R, 2 SB
- Hero: Chris Flexen (.237). 2 IP, 7 BF, H, R (0 ER), K (W 3-0)
- Sidekick: Michael Busch (.135). 1-5, RBI
THREE GOATS:
- Billy Goat: Dansby Swanson (-.225). 1-4, BB, CS
- Goat: Ryan McGuire (-.117). 0-3
- Kid: Seiya Suzuki (-.096). 1-5, RBI
WPA Play of the Game: Matt Shaw’s walk-off single. (.297)
*Rockies Play of the Game: Brenton Doyle’s homer leading off the seventh (.204)
Cubs Player of the Game:
Yesterday’s Winner: Jameson Taillon received 262 of 286 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.
- Kyle Tucker +23
- Shōta Imanaga/Drew Pomeranz/Miguel Amaya +11
- Jameson Taillon +9
- Michael Busch -9.33
- Seiya Suzuki -9.5
- Ben Brown -14
- Dansby Swanson -14.33
- Julian Merryweather -15
*Chris Flexen has pitched in pretty exclusively low leverage situations. Accordingly, he hadn’t yet landed on any podium. As tonight’s hero, he’s already the 36th Cub to reach a podium at least once. With a 40-man roster, that feels like a lot. But for reference, 52 players reached a podium last season. I believe the 65 players in 2021 is and likely will remain the record for a very long time.
Up Next: With a quick turnaround, I’m going to be quick. Matthew Boyd (4-2, 3.42, 55⅓ IP) comes off his worst start. Tanner Gordon (1-1, 4.38, 12⅓ IP) makes his third start of the season and 11th of his career. He’s coming off of a win over the Yankees. Gordon was the 2019 sixth-round pick of the Braves. He was born in Champaign. Somehow, he went to Indiana University after growing up in the backyard of the University of Illinois.