The Cubs kept creating chances in this game, which I like, but obviously chances are just that and a loss is a loss. Notable: The Cubs lead baseball in double plays, which was a factor again tonight.
The biggest chance came on the 8th when the Cubs had two on and no one out for Nico Hoerner, but he ended up in a double play. From there, the Cubs loaded bases with two outs, but Willson Contreras looked to three straight pitches to knock out (one was definitely outside the zone, but the other two caught the top of the zone).
The biggest damage against the Cubs came in a disastrous 4th inning for Marcus Stroman. He didn’t have much control tonight, especially with the two-seamer (seemed to lose quite a bit of arm side) and the cutter (a little left in the middle and not quite enough for lefties). He was also frequently wild, with a fair amount of uncompetitive balls (i.e. the kind that the hitter immediately knows not to worry about). And when the wheels fell off in the 4th, they REALLY came off. He probably should have been drawn before his last batter and triple homer, but I can see the hope that he would make it through and put it to the bullpen from there. Then again, he looked pretty beat at this point, and hope isn’t a strategy.
The bullpen was once again solid overall with Scott Effross being really impressive. The bats just look so uncomfortable.
Incidentally, Seiya Suzuki is already being treated like the star he could be. With the Cubs staging a trifle in the 5th, Suzuki Pinch scored for Jason Heyward, with the runners in second and third place with an out. Of course, the Rockies threw two ways out of the zone to see if he would chase — of course he wouldn’t — and then walked with him on purpose.
Opportunities, opportunities, opportunities…
full box score.