clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Cubs Heroes and Goats: NLCS Game 3

Of all of the ways to end up at the top of the Goat podium, landing there as a result of a dropped third strike might be the most interesting.

Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports

Sobering Stat of the Day: In the three NLCS games, the Cubs' first hitters of the inning have gone 0-for-25 with a walk and a hit by pitch. Both of which came from Anthony Rizzo.

Graphs for NLCS Game 3 (courtesy of Fangraphs):

Game 170 Chart 2015

Stats for NLCS Game 3:

Pitcher

IP

H

HR

ER

BB

SO

pLI

WPA

C Richard

1

1

0

0

1

0

1.58

.062

P Strop

1

0

0

0

0

1

0.15

.011

H Rondon

1

0

0

0

1

1

0.12

.006

K Hendricks

4

5

1

2

1

4

1.09

-.057

T Wood

0.1

2

0

2

0

1

0.94

-.074

J Grimm

0.2

1

0

0

0

1

1.19

-.108

T Cahill

1

2

0

1

0

1

2

-.131

Total

9

11

1

5

3

9

1.15

-.291

Batter

AB

R

H

HR

RBI

BB

SO

pLI

WPA

K Schwarber

3

1

1

1

1

1

0

0.81

.097

J Soler

4

1

1

1

1

0

1

0.9

.085

T La Stella

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

0.32

-.008

C Coghlan

1

0

0

0

0

0

1

0.51

-.012

K Hendricks

1

0

0

0

0

0

1

0.65

-.015

C Denorfia

1

0

0

0

0

0

1

0.92

-.022

D Fowler

4

0

1

0

0

0

1

0.86

-.032

S Castro

4

0

1

0

0

0

0

0.79

-.038

J Baez

2

0

0

0

0

0

1

0.79

-.039

M Montero

3

0

0

0

0

0

1

0.76

-.055

A Rizzo

4

0

1

0

0

0

0

0.82

-.061

K Bryant

4

0

0

0

0

0

2

1.11

-.109

Total

32

2

5

2

2

1

9

0.83

-.209

Writer's Note: The daily selections of the three Heroes and three Goats are based solely on the top three and bottom three WPA scores for the game. The selections are not based on my subjective opinion.

THE THREE HEROES:

  • Superhero - Kyle Schwarber (.097). His five homers so far in the postseason have been a very fun sight to see. Especially when he hits one off of his front foot on a ball that's out of the zone.
  • Hero - Jorge Soler (.085). Provided a second momentum boost with his solo shot in the fourth.
  • Sidekick - Clayton Richard (.062). Heck, I give him kudos for getting Daniel Murphy to hit into a double play. In this postseason that's been quite the feat.

THE THREE GOATS:

  • Billy Goat - Trevor Cahill (-.131). If you want to give part (or all) of this award to Miguel Montero for not blocking that third strike better, that's fine.
  • Goat - Kris Bryant (-.109). The Cubs' lone 0-for-4.
  • Kid - Justin Grimm (-.108). And if you want to give part of this award to Schwarber for missing that fly ball, that's also fine.
CURRENT PLAYOFF TOTALS:

Heroes

1st

2nd

3rd

Total

Kyle Schwarber

1

2

1

8

Jorge Soler

1

2

0

7

Kris Bryant

2

0

0

6

Starlin Castro

1

0

1

4

Anthony Rizzo

0

2

0

4

Dexter Fowler

0

1

2

4

Jake Arrieta

1

0

0

3

Javier Baez

1

0

0

3

Jon Lester

1

0

0

3

Travis Wood

0

1

1

3

Addison Russell

0

0

1

1

Clayton Richard

0

0

1

1

Miguel Montero

0

0

1

1

Goats

1st

2nd

3rd

Total

Kris Bryant

1

3

0

9

Jake Arrieta

2

0

0

6

Trevor Cahill

2

0

0

6

Anthony Rizzo

1

0

2

5

Dexter Fowler

0

1

2

4

Jon Lester

1

0

0

3

Kyle Hendricks

1

0

0

3

Starlin Castro

0

1

1

3

Jason Hammel

0

1

0

2

Javier Baez

0

1

0

2

Kyle Schwarber

0

1

0

2

Justin Grimm

0

0

1

1

Miguel Montero

0

0

1

1

Tommy La Stella

0

0

1

1

Overall

Hero

Goat

+/-

Jorge Soler

7

0

7

Kyle Schwarber

8

2

6

Travis Wood

3

0

3

Starlin Castro

4

3

1

Javier Baez

3

2

1

Addison Russell

1

0

1

Clayton Richard

1

0

1

Dexter Fowler

4

4

0

Jon Lester

3

3

0

Miguel Montero

1

1

0

Anthony Rizzo

4

5

-1

Justin Grimm

0

1

-1

Tommy La Stella

0

1

-1

Jason Hammel

0

2

-2

Kris Bryant

6

9

-3

Jake Arrieta

3

6

-3

Kyle Hendricks

0

3

-3

Trevor Cahill

0

6

-6