:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/47269416/usa-today-8823091.0.jpg)
I had a friend of mine text me a few days ago to ask me if there was ever a time that I could recall the Cubs clinching a playoff spot while they weren't playing. The only instance I can remember that was close to it was in 1998 when the Cubs had just lost to the Astros 4-3 in 11 innings on the final day of the season, and almost immediately after that found out that they would be in the one-game playoff against the Giants who lost a minute later by a score of 9-8 to the Rockies. I only remember it as well as I do because I was actually at the Astrodome watching that game with that friend of mine as well as a few other people. I also saw the Saturday game that the Cubs won 3-2 on a crazy play to end the game that saw Dave Clark get called out for running out of the base line on an attempted tag by Rod Beck. You want to talk about electric atmospheres; I'm pretty sure that people were going deaf in the Astrodome that weekend.
Graphs for Game 153 (courtesy of Fangraphs):
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/4098674/Game-153-2015.0.png)
Stats for Game 153:
|
Pitcher |
IP |
H |
HR |
ER |
BB |
SO |
pLI |
WPA |
|
J Lester |
7 |
5 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
6 |
1.12 |
.023 |
|
F Rodney |
0.2 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0.24 |
.007 |
|
T Wood |
0.1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0.24 |
.006 |
|
P Strop |
1 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
3 |
1.15 |
-.093 |
|
Total |
9 |
7 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
11 |
1.02 |
-.057 |
|
Batter |
AB |
R |
H |
HR |
RBI |
BB |
SO |
pLI |
WPA |
|
S Castro |
2 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1.88 |
.259 |
|
C Denorfia |
1 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1.63 |
.100 |
|
K Schwarber |
2 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0.8 |
.043 |
|
A Jackson |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0.55 |
.024 |
|
K Bryant |
4 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
1.48 |
.015 |
|
A Russell |
3 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1.97 |
.013 |
|
A Rizzo |
4 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1.97 |
-.007 |
|
T La Stella |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0.97 |
-.046 |
|
D Ross |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1.56 |
-.056 |
|
M Montero |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
2.99 |
-.072 |
|
D Fowler |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0.8 |
-.077 |
|
J Lester |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
1.67 |
-.090 |
|
C Coghlan |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1.44 |
-.093 |
|
J Baez |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
3.63 |
-.187 |
|
J Soler |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
3.47 |
-.268 |
|
Total |
33 |
2 |
7 |
0 |
2 |
3 |
12 |
1.67 |
-.443 |
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 - Starlin Castro (.259). It's official, ladies and gentlemen: Mister Castro has exited the basement.
- Hero - Chris Denorfia (.100). Did his job with a pinch-hit double in the ninth. (That phrase seems somewhat familiar for this podium spot...)
- Sidekick - Kyle Schwarber (.043). Takes the final spot with a table-setting single, plus had a nifty play in left to go along with it.
THE THREE GOATS:
- Billy Goat - Jorge Soler (-.268). That strikeout was just absolutely brutal.
- Goat - Javier Baez (-.187). That strikeout wasn't much better, either.
- Kid (tie) - Chris Coghlan and Pedro Strop (-.093). You could make the case that part of Strop's podium spot should go to Miguel Montero for not coming up with that dropped third strike. Coghlan joins the two people above him on the podium as a result of a very inopportune whiff.
|
Heroes |
1st |
2nd |
3rd |
Total |
|
Anthony Rizzo |
17 |
26.5 |
11.5 |
115.5 |
|
Kris Bryant |
16 |
18 |
9 |
93 |
|
Dexter Fowler |
11 |
6 |
17 |
62 |
|
Jake Arrieta |
17.5 |
4 |
0.5 |
61 |
|
Starlin Castro |
7 |
9 |
12 |
51 |
|
Addison Russell |
9 |
6.5 |
7.5 |
47.5 |
|
Miguel Montero |
10.5 |
5.5 |
4 |
46.5 |
|
Jorge Soler |
7 |
11 |
3 |
46 |
|
Chris Coghlan |
8 |
5 |
10 |
44 |
|
Jon Lester |
9 |
5 |
2 |
39 |
|
Kyle Schwarber |
9 |
2 |
7 |
38 |
|
Jason Hammel |
7 |
4 |
1 |
30 |
|
Hector Rondon |
1 |
9 |
8.5 |
29.5 |
|
Travis Wood |
2 |
6 |
3.5 |
21.5 |
|
Kyle Hendricks |
5 |
1 |
3 |
20 |
|
Pedro Strop |
2 |
2 |
9 |
19 |
|
Tommy La Stella |
3 |
3 |
0 |
15 |
|
Jonathan Herrera |
1 |
5 |
2 |
15 |
|
Chris Denorfia |
1 |
3 |
5.5 |
14.5 |
|
Matt Szczur |
2 |
2 |
2.5 |
12.5 |
|
Zac Rosscup |
2 |
0 |
4.5 |
10.5 |
|
x-Jason Motte |
0 |
2.5 |
5.5 |
10.5 |
|
Justin Grimm |
0 |
2 |
6.5 |
10.5 |
|
x-James Russell |
0 |
3 |
1.5 |
7.5 |
|
x-Junior Lake |
1 |
1 |
1 |
6 |
|
Clayton Richard |
1 |
0 |
3 |
6 |
|
Tsuyoshi Wada |
1 |
1 |
0 |
5 |
|
x-Taylor Teagarden |
1 |
1 |
0 |
5 |
|
x-Brian Schlitter |
0 |
2 |
1 |
5 |
|
Trevor Cahill |
1 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
|
Dan Haren |
0 |
2 |
0 |
4 |
|
David Ross |
0 |
1 |
2 |
4 |
|
x-Phil Coke |
1 |
0 |
0.5 |
3.5 |
|
Austin Jackson |
0 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
|
x-Edwin Jackson |
0 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
|
x-Arismendy Alcantara |
0 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
|
x-Welington Castillo |
0 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
|
Tommy Hunter |
0 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
|
x-Mike Baxter |
0 |
0 |
1.5 |
1.5 |
|
Neil Ramirez |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
|
Yoervis Medina |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
|
Fernando Rodney |
0 |
0 |
0.5 |
0.5 |
|
Goats |
1st |
2nd |
3rd |
Total |
|
Starlin Castro |
11 |
11 |
14 |
69 |
|
Addison Russell |
6 |
18 |
12 |
66 |
|
Dexter Fowler |
9 |
11.5 |
10.5 |
60.5 |
|
Jorge Soler |
7 |
12 |
10 |
55 |
|
Kris Bryant |
8 |
10 |
9 |
53 |
|
Anthony Rizzo |
7 |
10 |
10 |
51 |
|
Chris Coghlan |
4 |
11 |
15.5 |
49.5 |
|
Kyle Hendricks |
10 |
3 |
1 |
37 |
|
Miguel Montero |
3 |
9 |
10 |
37 |
|
Pedro Strop |
9 |
2 |
0.5 |
31.5 |
|
Jason Hammel |
7 |
5 |
0 |
31 |
|
Kyle Schwarber |
3 |
7 |
7 |
30 |
|
Justin Grimm |
4 |
5 |
5 |
27 |
|
Jon Lester |
7 |
1 |
2 |
25 |
|
David Ross |
3 |
4.5 |
6.5 |
24.5 |
|
Hector Rondon |
6 |
3 |
0 |
24 |
|
Chris Denorfia |
3 |
3 |
7 |
22 |
|
Zac Rosscup |
5 |
1 |
1 |
18 |
|
Jake Arrieta |
5 |
0 |
1 |
16 |
|
Travis Wood |
3 |
2 |
3 |
16 |
|
Jonathan Herrera |
1 |
2.5 |
6.5 |
14.5 |
|
Dan Haren |
3 |
1 |
2 |
13 |
|
Tsuyoshi Wada |
4 |
0 |
0 |
12 |
|
x-Jason Motte |
1 |
4 |
0 |
11 |
|
x-Brian Schlitter |
3 |
0 |
1 |
10 |
|
Austin Jackson |
2 |
2 |
0 |
10 |
|
Javier Baez |
2 |
1 |
2 |
10 |
|
Clayton Richard |
1 |
3 |
1 |
10 |
|
x-Edwin Jackson |
2 |
1 |
0 |
8 |
|
x-Mike Baxter |
2 |
1 |
0 |
8 |
|
Fernando Rodney |
1 |
2 |
0 |
7 |
|
x-Welington Castillo |
1 |
1 |
2 |
7 |
|
x-Dallas Beeler |
2 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
|
x-Rafael Soriano |
2 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
|
Matt Szczur |
0 |
1 |
4 |
6 |
|
Tommy Hunter |
1 |
0.5 |
1.5 |
5.5 |
|
x-James Russell |
1 |
1 |
0 |
5 |
|
x-Junior Lake |
1 |
0 |
2 |
5 |
|
x-Mike Olt |
1 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
|
Tommy La Stella |
0 |
1 |
2 |
4 |
|
x-Donn Roach |
1 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
|
x-Gonzalez Germen |
1 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
|
x-Phil Coke |
0 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
|
Quintin Berry |
0 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
|
Neil Ramirez |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
|
x-Arismendy Alcantara |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
|
Overall |
Hero |
Goat |
+/- |
|
Anthony Rizzo |
115.5 |
51 |
64.5 |
|
Jake Arrieta |
61 |
16 |
45 |
|
Kris Bryant |
93 |
53 |
40 |
|
Jon Lester |
39 |
25 |
14 |
|
Tommy La Stella |
15 |
4 |
11 |
|
Miguel Montero |
46.5 |
37 |
9.5 |
|
Kyle Schwarber |
38 |
30 |
8 |
|
Matt Szczur |
12.5 |
6 |
6.5 |
|
Hector Rondon |
29.5 |
24 |
5.5 |
|
Travis Wood |
21.5 |
16 |
5.5 |
|
x-Taylor Teagarden |
5 |
0 |
5 |
|
Trevor Cahill |
4 |
0 |
4 |
|
x-James Russell |
7.5 |
5 |
2.5 |
|
Dexter Fowler |
62 |
60.5 |
1.5 |
|
x-Junior Lake |
6 |
5 |
1 |
|
x-Arismendy Alcantara |
2 |
1 |
1 |
|
Yoervis Medina |
1 |
0 |
1 |
|
Jonathan Herrera |
15 |
14.5 |
0.5 |
|
x-Phil Coke |
3.5 |
3 |
0.5 |
|
Neil Ramirez |
1 |
1 |
0 |
|
x-Jason Motte |
10.5 |
11 |
-0.5 |
|
Jason Hammel |
30 |
31 |
-1 |
|
Quintin Berry |
0 |
2 |
-2 |
|
x-Donn Roach |
0 |
3 |
-3 |
|
x-Gonzalez Germen |
0 |
3 |
-3 |
|
Tommy Hunter |
2 |
5.5 |
-3.5 |
|
Clayton Richard |
6 |
10 |
-4 |
|
x-Mike Olt |
0 |
4 |
-4 |
|
x-Brian Schlitter |
5 |
10 |
-5 |
|
x-Edwin Jackson |
3 |
8 |
-5 |
|
x-Welington Castillo |
2 |
7 |
-5 |
|
Chris Coghlan |
44 |
49.5 |
-5.5 |
|
x-Dallas Beeler |
0 |
6 |
-6 |
|
x-Rafael Soriano |
0 |
6 |
-6 |
|
x-Mike Baxter |
1.5 |
8 |
-6.5 |
|
Fernando Rodney |
0.5 |
7 |
-6.5 |
|
Tsuyoshi Wada |
5 |
12 |
-7 |
|
Austin Jackson |
3 |
10 |
-7 |
|
Chris Denorfia |
14.5 |
22 |
-7.5 |
|
Zac Rosscup |
10.5 |
18 |
-7.5 |
|
Jorge Soler |
46 |
55 |
-9 |
|
Dan Haren |
4 |
13 |
-9 |
|
Javier Baez |
0 |
10 |
-10 |
|
Pedro Strop |
19 |
31.5 |
-12.5 |
|
Justin Grimm |
10.5 |
27 |
-16.5 |
|
Kyle Hendricks |
20 |
37 |
-17 |
|
Starlin Castro |
51 |
69 |
-18 |
|
Addison Russell |
47.5 |
66 |
-18.5 |
|
David Ross |
4 |
24.5 |
-20.5 |