Former NFL coach John McKay was once quoted saying that his team didn’t tackle well but made up for it by not blocking. I’ve seen and heard versions of this quote through the years, but as far as I can tell, McKay was the one who originally said it.
This was that kind of day. The Cubs didn’t pitch very well, but they made up for it by not hitting. It’s easy to be frustrated that a blister took away the command of Cub starter and promising rookie Cade Horton. First he allowed a homer, then had trouble
finding the strike zone and started to labor. His day was cut short, just what you don’t want to see in the first game of a planned doubleheader. Horton recorded just eight outs before departing with a blister. As the home team, the Cubs needed to put together 19 more outs, win or lose. The Cubs did cobble together 19 outs from their bullpen, but that bullpen combined to allow six runs, five earned.
On the other side of the field, Cub bats were managing just two hits. They also managed to draw three straight one-out walks in a tantalizing and frustrating fourth inning. Freddy Peralta appeared to lose the zone for just a few batters, finding just enough to coax Owen Caissie swinging at a pitch out of the zone on a 3-2 pitch with the bases loaded and the Cubs down one.
It’s so frustrating right now to see these two teams face off. The Brewers are seemingly doing everything right and the Cubs are seemingly doing everything wrong. It’s gone on long enough now to feel like it’s permanent and this is a new normal.
The saving grace was a rainout. With Ben Brown having thrown a ton of pitches Sunday, Andrew Kittredge having pitched in three straight games and four relievers working in the first game, it’s not real clear what the bullpen would have looked like behind the presumed starter, Jameson Taillon. Those plans might have and might still involve Jordan Wicks who was sighted in Wrigleyville, apparently.
Just an ugly, ugly day.
Let’s do a quick scoreboard watch and then run the numbers and get the heck out of here and hope Tuesday is a better day.
The Padres (entered the day as Wild Card #2) lost to the Giants (on the periphery). The Mets (WC #3) took a day off. The Reds (4th place WC) beat the Angels. The Cardinals (5th WC) beat the Marlins. The Cardinals are included largely out of habit. This is a seven-team race for six spots.
Pitch Counts:
- Brewers: 128, 32 BF
- Cubs: 180, 44 BF
The Brewers threw just over 14 pitches per inning. That actually feels a touch high for how dominant they were. This one felt like it could look like a combined Maddux. But Peralta did throw just shy of 16 per inning. The Cubs made him work, but just had nothing at all to show for it. Three Brewer relievers each pitched an inning and they were ruthlessly efficient. Not only do I think those three will be available for action Tuesday, I think all three might have been available to pitch the second game of the doubleheader had it happened. The Brewers would have had an enormous tactical advantage. The kind of tactical advantage that might have won future games in the series for them.
On the other side, full dumpster fire on the Cubs side. Horton retired eight Brewers with 61 pitches. Drew Pomeranz came in and put out the fire and Taylor Rogers, despite a solo homer allowed, kept it out for the most part. After five innings, this one was very much a game. Luke Little then showed us both his good and his bad side. He walked a couple of hitters, contributing to an unearned run allowed. But he also struck out four batters over two innings. It’s hard to imagine that Little wasn’t heading back to Iowa after game one to make way for Jameson Taillon to be activated. Then Gavin Hollowell threw two innings. He was acting as the 27th man for the doubleheader.
Little threw 42 pitches over two innings and then H0llowell threw 45 over the final two, allowing four runs and putting the game completely out of reach. It’s hard to imagine both guys aren’t on their way back to Iowa. I’d think Wicks replaces Hollowell as the 27th man and then Taillon replaces Little for Game 2. If the Cubs have enough healthy bodies around, they can get an extra arm active for game one by shuffling the back of the roster. I can’t imagine the team would be super concerned about bouncing some of these guys with options back to Iowa when they just aren’t flashing much at the major league level.
Three Stars:
- I do not miss having to try to find three positive things that happened during a game. Drew Pomeranz retired all four batters he faced. I feel comfortable suggesting he did his job better than any other Cub on Monday.
- Seiya Suzuki had one of two Cub hits and drew a walk.
- I’ll tip the cap to Owen Caissie for his first career hit, despite the high leverage strikeout.
Game 124, August 18: Brewers 7, Cubs 0 (70-54)
Reminder: Heroes and Goats are determined by WPA scores and are in no way subjective.
THREE HEROES:
- Superhero: Drew Pomeranz (.118). 1.1 IP, 4 BF
- Hero: Carson Kelly (.033). 0-3, BB
- Sidekick: Seiya Suzuki (.028). 1-3, BB
THREE GOATS
- Billy Goat: Nico Hoerner (-.143). 0-3
- Goat: Owen Caissie (-.086). 1-3
- Kid: Willi Castro (-.081). 0-3
WPA Play of the Game: Caleb Durbin’s one-out homer in the fifth made it a 2-0 game. (.122)
*Cubs Play of the Game: Carson Kelly’s walk to load the bases with one out in the fourth. (.082)
Cubs Player of the Game:
Yesterday’s Winner: Dansby Swanson received 55 of 124 votes (Happ second at 46)
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 +24
- Matthew Boyd +23
- Shōta Imanaga +20
- Drew Pomeranz +11.33
- Jameson Taillon/Miguel Amaya +11
- Carson Kelly -11
- Julian Merryweather -15
- Ben Brown -19
- Dansby Swanson -23.33
- Seiya Suzuki -26
Up Next: Games two and three of the series in a day/night doubleheader. Matthew Boyd (11-6, 2.46, 142.2) starts for the Cubs. He’s 3-3 with a 2.05 over his last seven. But he has yet to win in August. The Brewers hit him hard in Milwaukee last month scoring five runs in five innings against him. Boyd is 9-0 with a 1.75 at home (11 starts) and has a 1.76 ERA in day games.
Chad Patrick (3-7, 3.52, 94.2) has somehow found a way to lose seven games for this Brewers team. He’s 1-3 with a 4.38 over his last seven. He hasn’t won a game since May. The Cubs beat him in Chicago in June, scoring four runs in five innings. He’s been worse on the road (4.29 vs. 3.05).
Hopefully, these numbers suggest a Cub win. The matchup is quite a bit tougher in the second one with Jameson Taillon (7-6, 4.44) against Brandon Woodruff (4-0, 2.06).
Get the first one and then see if you can pull a heist.
