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Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 107

In the tightest race this season -- and probably in several seasons -- for the top of the Hero podium, who took the top step?

"Hey Justin... do you think either of us won the top spot tonight?"
"Hey Justin... do you think either of us won the top spot tonight?"
Caylor Arnold-USA TODAY Sports

Here's a hint: Kyle Schwarber, with his three-run homer, didn't even make it onto the podium. He ended up .010 behind the leader, with the top three spots separated by a total of .005. Talk about razor-thin margins.

Graphs for Game 107 (courtesy of Fangraphs):

Game 107 Chart 2015

Stats for Game 107:

Pitcher

IP

H

HR

ER

BB

SO

pLI

WPA

H Rondon

1

0

0

0

0

1

2.01

.146

J Grimm

1

0

0

0

0

0

2.05

.146

P Strop

1

0

0

0

1

0

1.65

.112

J Motte

1

0

0

0

0

2

1.24

.090

J Hammel

4

3

1

2

2

4

0.63

-.052

T Hunter

1

2

1

2

0

0

0.8

-.129

Total

9

5

2

4

3

7

1.03

.312

Batter

AB

R

H

HR

RBI

BB

SO

pLI

WPA

J Soler

4

0

2

0

2

0

0

1.26

.151

K Schwarber

3

2

1

1

3

1

0

0.7

.141

A Rizzo

2

1

2

0

0

1

0

0.38

.053

K Bryant

3

0

1

0

0

1

1

0.79

.042

J Hammel

2

1

1

0

0

0

0

0.32

.022

A Russell

4

1

1

0

0

0

2

0.56

.006

J Herrera

1

0

0

0

0

0

1

0.46

-.011

M Szczur

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

0.67

-.016

C Denorfia

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

0.76

-.019

C Coghlan

3

0

0

0

0

0

0

0.54

-.037

D Fowler

4

0

0

0

0

1

2

0.59

-.057

S Castro

4

0

0

0

0

0

0

0.84

-.086

Total

32

5

8

1

5

4

6

0.67

.188

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 - Jorge Soler (.151). Wins the race for the top step by a nose. And man, was it nice to see him come through with runners in scoring position.
  • Hero / Sidekick (tie) #1 - Justin Grimm (.146). If I could give him bonus points for winning the 10-pitch battle with Nori Aoki to end the fifth, I would.
  • Hero / Sidekick (tie) #2 - Hector Rondon (.146). An even more impressive save given that he had to go through Brandon Crawford and Buster Posey to get it.

THE THREE GOATS:

  • Billy Goat - Tommy Hunter (-.129). The two-run homer he gave up to Brandon Crawford made it a bit too close for comfort.
  • Goat - Starlin Castro (-.086). So. Many. Missed. Opportunities.
  • Kid - Dexter Fowler (-.057). Jason Hammel was standing here until Fowler's strikeout against Sergio Romo in the eighth.
RANKINGS THROUGH GAME 107 ("x" indicates player not on active roster):
Soler takes a big step away from the cellar door, and Castro finds himself in absolute no-man's land at the bottom of the chart.

Heroes

1st

2nd

3rd

Total

Anthony Rizzo

13

20.5

5.5

85.5

Kris Bryant

10

9

6

54

Dexter Fowler

9

4

10

45

Jake Arrieta

10.5

3

0.5

38

Jorge Soler

4

10

3

35

Addison Russell

6

4.5

7.5

34.5

Starlin Castro

3

7

10

33

Chris Coghlan

7

2

7

32

x-Miguel Montero

6.5

5.5

0

30.5

Jason Hammel

7

2

0

25

Jon Lester

7

1

2

25

Hector Rondon

0

8.5

7

24

Kyle Schwarber

6

1

1

21

Kyle Hendricks

5

1

2

19

Travis Wood

1

5

3.5

16.5

Jonathan Herrera

1

5

2

15

Pedro Strop

1

1

8.5

13.5

Jason Motte

0

2.5

5.5

10.5

Matt Szczur

2

1

2

10

x-Zac Rosscup

2

0

3

9

Justin Grimm

0

1.5

6

9

Chris Denorfia

1

1

3.5

8.5

James Russell

0

3

1.5

7.5

x-Junior Lake

1

1

1

6

x-Tsuyoshi Wada

1

1

0

5

x-Taylor Teagarden

1

1

0

5

x-Brian Schlitter

0

2

1

5

Clayton Richard

1

0

1

4

x-Phil Coke

1

0

0.5

3.5

x-Edwin Jackson

0

1

1

3

x-Welington Castillo

0

1

0

2

x-Arismendy Alcantara

0

1

0

2

David Ross

0

0

2

2

x-Mike Baxter

0

0

1.5

1.5

x-Neil Ramirez

0

0

1

1

x-Yoervis Medina

0

0

1

1

Goats

1st

2nd

3rd

Total

Starlin Castro

9

8

13

56

Jorge Soler

6

10

9

47

Dexter Fowler

6

8.5

8.5

43.5

Kris Bryant

7

7

8

43

Addison Russell

2

15

7

43

Anthony Rizzo

6

9

4

40

Chris Coghlan

2

7

14

34

x-Miguel Montero

3

6

6

27

Pedro Strop

7

2

0

25

Kyle Hendricks

6

1

1

21

Jon Lester

5

1

1

18

Jason Hammel

4

3

0

18

Justin Grimm

2

4

3

17

Jake Arrieta

5

0

1

16

Hector Rondon

4

2

0

16

David Ross

1

3.5

4.5

14.5

Travis Wood

2

2

3

13

Chris Denorfia

2

1

5

13

x-Tsuyoshi Wada

4

0

0

12

x-Zac Rosscup

3

1

1

12

Jason Motte

1

4

0

11

Jonathan Herrera

1

2

4

11

x-Brian Schlitter

3

0

1

10

x-Edwin Jackson

2

1

0

8

x-Mike Baxter

2

1

0

8

Kyle Schwarber

0

3

2

8

x-Welington Castillo

1

1

2

7

x-Rafael Soriano

2

0

0

6

x-Dallas Beeler

2

0

0

6

James Russell

1

1

0

5

x-Junior Lake

1

0

2

5

Matt Szczur

0

1

3

5

x-Mike Olt

1

0

1

4

Dan Haren

1

0

0

3

Tommy Hunter

1

0

0

3

x-Donn Roach

1

0

0

3

x-Gonzalez Germen

1

0

0

3

x-Phil Coke

0

1

1

3

Clayton Richard

0

1

0

2

x-Arismendy Alcantara

0

0

1

1

x-Neil Ramirez

0

0

1

1

Overall

Hero

Goat

+/-

Anthony Rizzo

85.5

40

45.5

Jake Arrieta

38

16

22

Kyle Schwarber

21

8

13

Kris Bryant

54

43

11

Hector Rondon

24

16

8

Jon Lester

25

18

7

Jason Hammel

25

18

7

Matt Szczur

10

5

5

x-Taylor Teagarden

5

0

5

Jonathan Herrera

15

11

4

x-Miguel Montero

30.5

27

3.5

Travis Wood

16.5

13

3.5

James Russell

7.5

5

2.5

Clayton Richard

4

2

2

Dexter Fowler

45

43.5

1.5

x-Junior Lake

6

5

1

x-Arismendy Alcantara

2

1

1

x-Yoervis Medina

1

0

1

x-Phil Coke

3.5

3

0.5

x-Neil Ramirez

1

1

0

Jason Motte

10.5

11

-0.5

Chris Coghlan

32

34

-2

Kyle Hendricks

19

21

-2

x-Zac Rosscup

9

12

-3

Dan Haren

0

3

-3

Tommy Hunter

0

3

-3

x-Donn Roach

0

3

-3

x-Gonzalez Germen

0

3

-3

x-Mike Olt

0

4

-4

Chris Denorfia

8.5

13

-4.5

x-Brian Schlitter

5

10

-5

x-Edwin Jackson

3

8

-5

x-Welington Castillo

2

7

-5

x-Dallas Beeler

0

6

-6

x-Rafael Soriano

0

6

-6

x-Mike Baxter

1.5

8

-6.5

x-Tsuyoshi Wada

5

12

-7

Justin Grimm

9

17

-8

Addison Russell

34.5

43

-8.5

Pedro Strop

13.5

25

-11.5

Jorge Soler

35

47

-12

David Ross

2

14.5

-12.5

Starlin Castro

33

56

-23