2021 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 8

Saturday night’s game started out promising. The Cubs struck first, tallying a run in the first. But Zach Davies was tagged for seven runs in the bottom of the second and that was pretty much it for this game. Was I the only one hoping that they’d end the inning on pitch count at some point? That might have spared the Cubs and Davies the crooked number.

Seven-run innings are generally a fluke. Allowing one to the Pirates almost certainly is. Sadly, that’s two more runs in a single inning than the Cubs have scored so far in any full game. That won’t last, of course, but it’s more than a little frustrating against a team not expected to be very competitive.

Do we have Al Yellon jinxes? He wrote a nice piece about the Cubs’ outstanding pitching to date. Then Davies goes out and allows seven earned runs in an inning. Not great. But I’m not going to lose sleep over this one. Tip the cap, turn the page and go get ’em on Sunday.

With that, we’ll turn our attention to Heroes and Goats. As you’ll recall, the Heroes and Goats are determined by WPA (Win Probability Added) and are not in any way subjective. Many days WPA will not tell the story of what happened, but often it can give at least a glimpse to who rose to the occasion in a high-leverage moment or who didn’t get the job done in that moment. With that, let’s get to the results.

Game 8, April 10: Pirates 8, Cubs 2 (4-4)

THREE HEROES:

• Superhero: Kris Bryant (.117). 1-3, BB, 2B, RBI, 2K
• Hero: Ian Happ (.040). 1-4, HBP, K
• Sidekick: Javier Baez (.028). 2-4, K

THREE GOATS:

• Billy Goat: Zach Davies (-.473). 1⅔IP (13 batters faced), 5H, 3BB, 7R, 2K (L 1-1)
• Goat: Willson Contreras (-.040). 1-4, R, SB, 2K
• Kid: Anthony Rizzo (-.045). 0-4, K

WPA Play of the Game: Jacob Stallings batted with the bases loaded and no outs in the bottom of the second inning with the Cubs leading 1-0. He delivered a two-run single and gave the Pirates a lead which they would never relinquish.

*Cubs Play of the Game: Kris Bryant batted with a runner on first and two outs in the top of the first inning. There was no score. He delivered an RBI double to give the Cubs the first run of the game.

Up Next: The teams meet for the final game of the three-game weekend set on Sunday afternoon. Trevor Williams makes his first start against his former employer.