Baseball history unpacked, April 24

Our simCubs managed to win the final game of the series with the simPadres, showing a bit of power, as Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant, and Ian Happ all went deep and Kyle Schwarber swatted a pair of doubles. Happ added a run-scoring double himself as the quartet all tallied multi-hit games and the Cubs tallied six runs to win by two.

Tommy Pham whacked a three-run bomb for the Friars, and it seemed for a while that it would be the deciding blow, even as Garrett Richards threw entirely too many pitches and the Cubs wrung the sawdust out of their bats trying to hit them. But the Cubs were able to stay in the game and eventually their grinding yielded benefits as a pair of pitches got a bit too much plate and were deposited promptly into the crowd.

Today the simCubs begin a three-game weekend series against the Philadelphia Phillies, with Yu Darvish (2-1, 3.58) toeing the rubber for the home team and Aaron Nola (1-1, 2.61) in opposition. Zack Wheeler (85) and Kyle Hendricks (87) take the hill Saturday, with Jose Quintana (81) and our old friend Jake Arrieta (72), who has fallen on hard times, rounding out the set.

Nola has given up 21 hits and 9 earned runs in his 31 innings, giving up a measly four home runs but walking 18 while striking out 35. His WHIP is 1.26, which isn’t terrible. His rating is 89.

Darvish has given up 26 hits in 27⅔ innings while allowing 11 ER and only one HR, while issuing 14 walks and striking out 17. His WHIP is 1,45. His game rating is 93, up from his low of 88.

The Phillies’ weakness is their bullpen. Hector Neris (80) is the only highly-rated arm, though closer David Robertson (79) is not bad.

The Phillies are 10-15 and six games off the pace. The Cubs are in first, 17-8.

Al will have more information about that game in the game post at 2:30 pm CT, Tuesday, for our 3 p.m. start. I’ll drop the specific URL to the contest in the game thread, but you can lurk at the BCB Media Center and catch it there as well. All past games and highlights reels are available there too, if you want the full #simCubs experience.

... on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, Bleed Cubbie Blue brings a you a lighthearted Cubs-centric look at baseball’s past. Here’s a handy Cubs timeline, to help you follow along as we review hand-picked scenes from the rich tapestry of Chicago Cubs and Major League Baseball history*.

Today in baseball history:

• 1945 - Happy Chandler becomes the second baseball commissioner. The major league owners unanimously elect the former governor of Kentucky on the first ballot and reward him with a seven-year contract. Chandler succeeds Kenesaw Mountain Landis, the game’s first commissioner, who died in 1944. (1,3)
• 1946 - Former major-leaguers Jesse Burkett, Frank Chance, Jack Chesbro, Johnny Evers, Clark Griffith, Tommy McCarthy, Joe McGinnity, Eddie Plank, Joe Tinker, Rube Waddell and Ed Walsh are inducted into the Hall of Fame.
• 1957 - The Chicago Cubs set a National League record by walking nine batters in the 5th inning of a 9-5 loss to the Cincinnati Redlegs. Moe Drabowsky walks four batters, Jackie Collum issues three free passes, and Jim Brosnan two during the wild inning. (1,3)
• 1998 - Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Mike Piazza ties a major league record hitting his third grand slam of the month. The blast highlights a nine-run 2nd inning which leads Los Angeles to 12-4 victory over the visiting Chicago Cubs. (1,3)
• 2010 - After undergoing shoulder surgery in November 2009, Ted Lilly pitches six scoreless innings in his first start of the year for the Cubs, leading his team to a 5-1 win over the Milwaukee Brewers. Carlos Zambrano, who, in a controversial decision, was moved to the bullpen to make room for Lilly in the starting rotation, pitches an inning and a third in his first relief appearance in almost eight years. He gives up the Brewers’ sole run, but drives in one of the Cubs’ tallies with a sacrifice fly. (3)
• 2017 - Dovydas Neverauskas becomes the first Lithuanian to play in the majors. He allows one run in two innings to close out a 14-3 Pirates loss to the Cubs. He is also the first major league pitcher to emerge from the MLB European Academy. A’s outfielder Joe Zapustas, who played two games for the team in 1933, was also born in the Baltic state, but spent his childhood in Boston. (1,3)
• Cubs birthdays: Ken Penner, Glen Hobbie, Herman Segelke, Will Cunnane, Welington Castillo, Steven Souza Jr. Also notable: Chipper Jones HOF.

Sources:

• (1) — The National Pastime.
• (2) — Today in Baseball History.
• (3) — Baseball Reference.
• (4) — Society for American Baseball Research.
• (5) — Baseball Hall of Fame.
• (6) — This Day in Chicago Cubs history.

*We try to vet each item. Please let us know if an item is in error, especially if you have a source. Thanks for reading!