Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 86

I'm telling you, I could take those week-long vacations to Texas for the rest of my life and not grow tired of them. Even though it was close to 100 degrees every day and sunny for all of them (so, basically, your average Texas July) there were still plenty of fun times had at the two Six Flags parks in Arlington and San Antonio. Major kudos to Six Flags Over Texas in Arlington for the best new ride of the two parks, that being the Riddler's Revenge. If you're anywhere in the vicinity of Arlington and have the time to stop by Six Flags, this ride is an absolute must. Here's a video to give you an idea of what the ride is like. (And no, Heroes and Goats is not being sponsored by Six Flags, the state of Texas, or the Riddler.)

And yes, I did have more waffles that were in the shape of the state of Texas. Because it's a requirement, basically.

Graphs for Game 86 (courtesy of Fangraphs):

Stats for Game 86:

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 - Miguel Montero (.294). It's the return of Captain Clutch, as his two-run homer to tie the game was more than enough for the top spot on Friday.
• Hero - Anthony Rizzo (.190). The only thing that shows up in the WPA logs is his blast to right-center in the top of the seventh to give the Cubs a temporary lead. What's missing is the play in the bottom of the same inning that kept the floodgates open.
• Sidekick - Jason Heyward (.103). Talk about reversals of fortune: Just 16 games ago Heyward was sitting completely by himself in the muck at minus-31. He's pulled it back to minus-18 since then.

THE THREE GOATS: There's a bump on the final spot of the Goat podium as Jake Arrieta's -.133 hitting is moved out.

• Billy Goat - Jake Arrieta (-.468). I'm becoming more and more convinced that someone abducted the real Jake Arrieta and has him tucked away in a broom closet somewhere. How that guy found such a great doppleganger for Arrieta, I'd love to know.
• Goat - Travis Wood (-.178). And here's the recipient of the podium spot courtesy of the aforementioned play in the bottom of the seventh. Could Wood have gotten to that throw? He did get a bit of his glove on it, so the throw wasn't completely off-line, but it was off-line enough to land Wood on the second step.
• Kid - Willson Contreras (-.133). Earns his podium spot the old-fashioned way: Miss out on four opportunities with runners on, including three strikeouts.

RANKINGS THROUGH GAME 86: Arrieta slips to third on the charts as Rizzo charges back to familiar territory near the top.