Baseball is back! (At least, for now. Thanks, Marlins!)
The Cubs won their delayed opening series against the Brewers this weekend. Behind a couple of sharp starting performances and some clutch hitting, the Cubs began the 2020 campaign on a winning note. While we would have been content to just have baseball games being played, it was great seeing the Cubs win a few. Given the shortened nature of the 2020 baseball season, there was extra weight to winning the first series of the year against a divisional rival at home.
We came close to getting a bingo on several lines, but didn't pull it off. Maybe next series. Ah well.
Friday July 24th:
The Cubs won 3-0 after a masterful performance by Kyle Hendricks. In 103 pitches, he scattered three singles by Orlando Arcia. No Brewer runners got to second base. Calling it a gem of a pitching performance isn't strong enough of a description. He was in control the entire game. Hendricks struck out nine, and gathered a ton of ground ball outs.
Ian Happ and Anthony Rizzo both went deep for the Cubs' scoring. The Cubs worked counts and got Woodruff out after 5 innings. They didn't make a ton of noise, but got the job done.
And we can't say enough about Manager David allowing, no, ENCOURAGING Cyle to finish the game. Would run through a wall for Gramps right now!
Saturday July 25th:
The Brewers took this one 8-3. Scoring in 5 out of 9 innings, their bats were a threat all day. Darvish gave up 3 runs in just 4 innings and 73 pitches. Underwood, Wieck, and Norwood all gave up runs out of the bullpen. On positive note, Dillon Maples came in and threw a solid inning.
Offensively, the Cubs scored 3 runs again. Kyle Schwarber hit his first home run, a two run blast in the 5th. Despite the Cubs scoring first, the Brewers just couldn't be stopped. Onto the next game.
Sunday July 26th:
The Cubs blew apart the Brewers 9-1. Behind a solid 6 innings and 1 run from Tyler Chatwood, the Cubs' bats broke out in a big way. Willson Contreras went deep twice, including one that went nearly 500'. Rizzo hit his second home run as well. All nine Cubs starting hitters got on base this day, leading to a balanced and constant threat all day long.
Chatwood came up big. In 6 innings of work, he only walked two. He also struck out 8. That'll do. No earned runs for the bullpen either. I don't want to call it a must win series, but with the shortened season, the Cubs really did have to win a series at home against a divisional rival.
Overall, it was a solid first impression for the 2020 Cubs. The rotation seems good, and the bullpen held their weight. The hitting was timely enough, and we saw reasonable performances from most of the regulars. You always want to get off to a good start, and the Cubs did.
Up next: four in Cincinnati against the Reds, if baseball doesn't pause due to the Marlins situation. Strap it on!