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Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 2

There were a few really good hitting performances on Tuesday night, but the pitching once again ruled the top of the podium as Jon Lester posted seven strong innings to take the Superhero title in the Cubs' 6-1 win.

And the starting pitching just keeps on dealing!
And the starting pitching just keeps on dealing!
Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Spoiler Alert: Honorable mention goes to David Ross for his 2-for-4 performance on Tuesday night, which is somewhat noteworthy because he only had two outings all of last season in which he had two hits. Unfortunately for him, it didn't lead to a podium spot. Some nights that's just how it goes.

Graphs for Game 2 (courtesy of Fangraphs):

Game 2 Chart 2016

Stats for Game 2:

Pitcher

IP

H

HR

ER

BB

SO

pLI

WPA

J Lester

7

4

0

1

0

4

0.66

.196

T Cahill

0.2

0

0

0

0

1

0.15

.007

P Strop

1

0

0

0

0

1

0.08

.006

T Wood

0.1

0

0

0

0

0

0.14

.004

Total

9

4

0

1

0

6

0.54

.212

Batter

AB

R

H

HR

RBI

BB

SO

pLI

WPA

M Szczur

4

2

2

1

1

0

1

0.38

.132

A Rizzo

4

1

1

1

2

0

1

0.5

.117

D Fowler

4

1

2

1

2

0

1

0.69

.097

D Ross

4

1

2

0

0

0

0

0.37

.054

B Zobrist

4

0

2

0

0

0

0

0.26

.024

K Bryant

4

0

0

0

0

0

1

0.37

-.026

A Russell

4

0

0

0

0

0

2

0.31

-.033

J Heyward

4

1

0

0

1

0

1

0.61

-.036

J Soler

4

0

0

0

0

0

2

0.43

-.041

Total

36

6

9

3

6

0

9

0.43

.288

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 - Jon Lester (.196). A very effective evening on the mound with only a couple of potential trouble spots over the course of seven innings.
  • Hero - Matt Szczur (.132). There was no doubt on his blast to left field, and he almost had a second one in the ninth when he sent one to the track in center.
  • Sidekick - Anthony Rizzo (.117). I really want to make a "bring me a shrubbery" comment for his bomb to dead center. Maybe it's because I'm just tired.

THE THREE GOATS:

  • Billy Goat - Jorge Soler (-.041). A rather uneventful night at the plate with a couple of strikeouts and a couple of runners stranded.
  • Goat - Jason Heyward (-.036). Hey, just how much are the Cubs paying this guy anyway?! #SometimesIRecycleBadJokes
  • Kid - Addison Russell (-.033). Still searching for his first hit of the season, along with that Kris Bryant guy.
RANKINGS THROUGH GAME 2:

Heroes

1st

2nd

3rd

Total

Jake Arrieta

1

0

0

3

Jon Lester

1

0

0

3

Anthony Rizzo

0

0.5

1.5

2.5

Matt Szczur

0

1

0

2

Miguel Montero

0

0.5

0.5

1.5

Goats

1st

2nd

3rd

Total

Jason Heyward

0

2

0

4

Ben Zobrist

1

0

0

3

Jorge Soler

1

0

0

3

Addison Russell

0

0

1

1

Kyle Schwarber

0

0

1

1

Overall

Hero

Goat

+/-

Jake Arrieta

3

0

3

Jon Lester

3

0

3

Anthony Rizzo

2.5

0

2.5

Matt Szczur

2

0

2

Miguel Montero

1.5

0

1.5

Addison Russell

0

1

-1

Kyle Schwarber

0

1

-1

Ben Zobrist

0

3

-3

Jorge Soler

0

3

-3

Jason Heyward

0

4

-4