Bleed Cubbie Blue - Cubs vs. Nationals NLDS Game 1 threadsA Chicago Cubs Fan Community Since February 9, 2005https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/47557/cubbieblue.png2017-10-07T08:00:08-05:00http://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/rss/stream/161678852017-10-07T08:00:08-05:002017-10-07T08:00:08-05:00Cubs 3, Nationals 0: Kyle Hendricks outduels Stephen Strasburg
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<p>The Cubs righthander was brilliant.</p> <p id="xNixGX">In 2017, baseball teams search primarily for one thing when evaluating young pitchers for the draft or for signing: velocity. If you can’t throw 95+, you’re likely not even going to get a second look.</p>
<p id="atPBlt">That’s what makes <span>Kyle Hendricks</span> even more enjoyable to watch. He’s a throwback to an earlier era, when pitchers didn’t have to overpower hitters, but instead got them out with location, movement, breaking pitches and intelligence that creates a game plan on how to attack each opposing batter.</p>
<p id="kK1t79">Everyone here, I think, knows how big a Kyle Hendricks fan I am, and have been since even before he landed on the <a href="https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/">Cubs</a>’ major-league roster in the summer of 2014. Watching him carve up opponents and getting some of the best power hitters in baseball to tap little ground balls to second base is a joy, something we rarely see in modern baseball.</p>
<p id="NbNPYp">Friday night’s Game 1 of the division series between the Cubs and <a href="https://www.federalbaseball.com/">Nationals</a> was a clinic in all of the above, conducted by the man we, and his teammates, call “The Professor.” Hendricks allowed just two singles and three walks in seven magnificent shutout innings, leading the Cubs to a <a href="http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2017_10_06_chnmlb_wasmlb_1">3-0 win over the Nationals</a> and a 1-0 lead in the division series. Just one Nats runner got past first base all night.</p>
<p id="MRD1SV">Credit where credit is due: <span>Stephen Strasburg</span> was even better than Hendricks for five innings. In that time Addison Russell’s two-out walk in the second inning provided the Cubs with their only baserunner. Cubs hitters were flailing away at Strasburg pitches far out of the strike zone as he struck out eight in those first five innings. The game was flying along at a pace I didn’t think MLB permitted for postseason games, at least not based on the first couple of days of 2017 postseason ball, where typically it was taking two hours to play five innings. </p>
<p id="10ntuC">The Cubs, as they usually are when they are winning, were helped out by some strong defense. After Cub nemesis <span>Daniel Murphy</span> (who otherwise was 0-for-3) walked to lead off the fourth, Hendricks got <span>Ryan Zimmerman</span> to hit this ground ball right at Russell:</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">6-4-3 double play. <a href="https://t.co/zeSGEwI6Wt">pic.twitter.com/zeSGEwI6Wt</a></p>— Kevin Marchina (@kg_holler) <a href="https://twitter.com/kg_holler/status/916462753187057664?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 7, 2017</a>
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<p id="2oq8uf">Games like this often turn on a defensive miscue, and so it was Friday night. <span>Javier Baez</span> led off the sixth inning by bouncing a ball down the third-base line, but <span>Anthony Rendon</span> couldn’t handle it and Javy was safe. Hendricks followed by executing a perfect sacrifice bunt. <span>Ben Zobrist</span>, last year’s World Series hero, couldn’t advance Baez, and that left things up to <span>Kris Bryant</span>:</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">BREAKING: Bryzzo’s approval rating is declining in DC.<br><br>But it’s soaring in the Midwest. <a href="https://t.co/0V3eJVqB3u">pic.twitter.com/0V3eJVqB3u</a></p>— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) <a href="https://twitter.com/Cubs/status/916493242560020480?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 7, 2017</a>
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<p id="ovQ8UZ">In addition to giving the Cubs a 1-0 lead, KB’s single broke up Strasburg’s no-hit bid, which, at two out in the sixth, was the longest against the Cubs in a postseason game — ever:</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Longest postseason no-hit bids vs <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cubs?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cubs</a><br>5.2 IP Strasburg tonight<br>5.1 IP B Donovan 1908 WS<br>5.0 IP J Lackey 2015 DS<br>5.0 IP T Glavine 1998 DS</p>— Christopher Kamka (@ckamka) <a href="https://twitter.com/ckamka/status/916469889593954304?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 7, 2017</a>
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<p id="SLuQNu">Bryant never stopped running as the throw came home, and did a headfirst slide (thought you weren’t doing those anymore, KB!) into second base, called safe on the field. It was close enough that the Nats challenged the play:</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">The <a href="https://twitter.com/WBMasonCo?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@WBMasonCo</a> Replay: <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Nationals?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Nationals</a> challenge call that Kris Bryant is safe at 2B in the 6th; call stands, runner is safe. <a href="https://t.co/tbV3XUHH8N">pic.twitter.com/tbV3XUHH8N</a></p>— MLB Replay (@MLBReplays) <a href="https://twitter.com/MLBReplays/status/916492972102967296?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 7, 2017</a>
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<p id="oBybEM">That was... really, really close. If the call on the field had been “out,” it probably would have been overturned, but the “safe” call was ruled “call stands.” That hustle on Bryant’s part turned out to be really, really important:</p>
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<p lang="it" dir="ltr">Rizzo! <a href="https://t.co/wu1OiYy584">pic.twitter.com/wu1OiYy584</a></p>— Kevin Marchina (@kg_holler) <a href="https://twitter.com/kg_holler/status/916471091035549696?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 7, 2017</a>
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<p id="L5yR5z"><span>Anthony Rizzo</span>’s line drive was nearly caught by <span>Bryce Harper</span>, but the ball fell in and Bryant scored to make it 2-0.</p>
<p id="WDldRh">In the seventh, Russell singled with one out and stole second. Addy isn’t much of a base stealer — just two all year, and just 11 in 403 regular-season games. The Cubs could not bring him home, and oddly enough, that might have been important. <span>Jon Jay</span> was on deck to bat for Hendricks when Baez struck out to end the seventh. If Jay had batted then, sure, the Cubs might have scored another run, but then Hendricks would have been out of the game. With the Cubs bullpen as shaky as it has been recently, I was glad to see Joe Maddon send Hendricks out to throw the seventh, even though he had thrown 92 pitches through six.</p>
<p id="AUyEXy">“The Professor” continued class by inducing two more weak ground balls to begin the inning. One of those ground balls resulted in <a href="https://www.mlb.com/video/bryants-barehanded-play/c-1861008583?tid=51231442">this slick play by KB [VIDEO]</a>.</p>
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<p id="fkRuEl">That made 12 groundouts of the first 20 outs recorded by Hendricks. He might have been out of the inning on only nine pitches, but Bryant committed a rare error allowing <span>Michael A. Taylor</span> to reach, but Hendricks reached back for the speed he had left and struck out pinch-hitter <span>Howie Kendrick</span> on pitch number 106.</p>
<p id="Is714T">“Sublime” is one of the best words I can think of to describe Hendricks’ outing. If you watched him closely during this game you’d never know whether he was feeling emotion at all. His expression never changes. I’ve rarely if ever seen a major-league player as locked-in as Hendricks was Friday night. Check out some Hendricks postseason numbers:</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Kyle Hendricks postseason career (8 starts):<br>1.98 ERA, 41.0 IP, 30 Hits, 11 BB, 36 K, 1.000 WHIP<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cubs?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cubs</a></p>— Christopher Kamka (@ckamka) <a href="https://twitter.com/ckamka/status/916480836567957506?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 7, 2017</a>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">of course, Hendricks' 41 innings is less than any of these other pitchers</p>— Christopher Kamka (@ckamka) <a href="https://twitter.com/ckamka/status/916489135082352644?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 7, 2017</a>
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<p id="K4vB1s">Jay, who had been waiting to bat for Hendricks in the seventh, instead led off the eighth in that role. And as he did 13 times (.325 PH BA) during the regular season, he delivered a pinch hit, a double to left field. One out later, he advanced to third on a ground out and <a href="https://www.mlb.com/video/rizzos-rbi-double/c-1861039483?tid=94767086">up came Rizzo[VIDEO]</a>.</p>
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<p id="HikWDw">What a great at-bat by Rizzo. With two strikes, he shortened up, and still got a ball he could drive to the opposite field. His double scored Jay and made it 3-0.</p>
<p id="jQKUKm">And that left it up to the Cubs’ bullpen. Joe Maddon has obviously drawn up things so that <span>Carl Edwards Jr.</span> will go in the eighth and <span>Wade Davis</span> in the ninth, presuming the Cubs have the lead and the game is shortened to those two innings.</p>
<p id="n7CeYX">CJ came through against the top of the Nats’ order, striking out <span>Trea Turner</span>, getting Harper to pop up and striking out Rendon.</p>
<p id="Xq7XxS">Oh, that popup by Harper? <a href="https://www.mlb.com/video/baezs-over-the-shoulder-catch/c-1861034283?tid=94767086">That’s worth a look [VIDEO].</a></p>
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<p id="g0m1W7">Javy is so, so good, making that play as if he were just trying to catch a bus that was starting to pull away without him on board. Then he shows off the baseball.</p>
<p id="eE1bQG">The Cubs did not score in the ninth and now it’s Davis Time. Davis, you should recall, has been here before. This was his first postseason appearance as a Cub, but he had thrown in 23 previous postseason games and got the last out of the 2015 World Series for the <a href="https://www.royalsreview.com/">Royals</a>. This is a man who, like Hendricks, never betrays emotion on the mound and clearly knows what he’s doing and what the situation requires.</p>
<p id="MjibQY">After Davis got Murphy to ground to Baez, he struck out Zimmerman. <span>Willson Contreras</span> couldn’t handle strike three and picked up the ball and threw to Rizzo — and the ball hit Zimmerman squarely in the back.</p>
<p id="kRDDPW">The umpires did not hesitate. “Out” was the call, and you can see why:</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Sit down Dusty, he was out of the base path. <a href="https://t.co/1eJTpjq3x2">pic.twitter.com/1eJTpjq3x2</a></p>— Kevin Marchina (@kg_holler) <a href="https://twitter.com/kg_holler/status/916492134819213314?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 7, 2017</a>
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<p id="j1mbsW">19 years ago, a play quite similar to this happened in Houston as the Cubs were trying to lock down the N.L. wild card. It wasn’t on a strikeout — Dave Clark of the <a href="https://www.crawfishboxes.com/">Astros</a> hit a little dribbler that Rod Beck picked up and tried to throw to first... hitting Clark square in the back, just like the play Friday night. And just like Friday night, Clark was ruled out and <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/HOU/HOU199809260.shtml">the Cubs won that game 3-2</a>.</p>
<p id="fQ4Wm5">Dusty Baker ran out of the Nats dugout to argue, at least as fast as a 68-year-old man can run (and trust me, I know men in their 60s can’t run very fast). Funny thing, I don’t ever recall seeing Dusty race that quickly out of the Cubs dugout when he was managing them. It didn’t matter — the call was correct and that play is not reviewable. You can clearly see Zimmerman out of the baseline when the throw hits him.</p>
<p id="sciIFi">With that kerfuffle out of the way, Davis threw ball one to <span>Jayson Werth</span> and then got him to pop up in foul territory to Contreras and the Cubs had the first game of the series.</p>
<p id="st792l">It really couldn’t have been drawn up much better. Hendricks was awesome in shutting down the Nats’ powerful offense, and the Cubs took advantage of a fielding error to score all the runs they’d need. Fun fact:</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Last 3 times a pitcher had 10+ K and 3 or fewer hits allowed in postseason:<br>Strasburg tonight<br>Moore 10/11/16<br>Cueto 10/7/16<br><br>Cubs won all 3</p>— Christopher Kamka (@ckamka) <a href="https://twitter.com/ckamka/status/916495821696307200?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 7, 2017</a>
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<p id="xJNQxn">In general, it’s said that all teams without home field advantage in a postseason series need to do is steal one game on the road and they’ll be in good shape when they actually do return home. This is certainly true, but these Cubs showed Friday night why they are the defending World Series champions. They know how to win even when they are facing one of the best pitchers in the game, and have an excellent chance to return home for Monday’s Game 3 up two games to none in this best-of-five series.</p>
<p id="U9jG2q"><span>Jon Lester</span> will go for the Cubs in Game 2 and <span>Gio Gonzalez</span> takes the mound for the Nats. Game time is 4:38 p.m. CT. The game preview will post at 2:30 p.m. CT.</p>
<p id="xxGg6J">#FlyTheW #LetsGo</p>
https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2017/10/7/16440682/cubs-nationals-recap-kyle-hendricks-anthony-rizzo-mlb-scoresAl Yellon2017-10-06T21:41:09-05:002017-10-06T21:41:09-05:00Rapid Recap: Cubs win Game 1, 3-0!
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<figcaption>Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>The Cubs take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five series by shutting down the Nationals offense. </p> <p id="aySZcZ">The <a href="https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/">Chicago Cubs</a> started their defense of their World Serie title with a 3-0 victory over the <a href="https://www.federalbaseball.com/">Washington Nationals</a> in game one of the best-of-five National League Division Series. The Cubs won this game with terrific pitching and clutch hitting from <span>Kris Bryant</span> and <span>Anthony Rizzo</span>. The Cubs were the first road team to win a game this postseason. Home teams were 6-0 before the Cubs won game one. </p>
<p id="RvBs5i">Cubs pitching held the powerful Nats offense to just two singles and none after the second inning. </p>
<p id="IHWxrX">Let’s tip our hat to Nats starter <span>Stephen Strasburg</span>. For five innings, the man was filthy. How filthy? Strasburg was so filthy that if Dusty Baker hadn’t bribed the inspector, the DC Health Department would have shut him down. The Cubs didn’t have a hit through five innings and they didn’t look even close to having one. Strasburg struck out eight in and walked just one over those five innings. On his final line, he struck out ten in seven innings. He gave up two runs, both unearned. </p>
<p id="70I7gm">But while Hendricks wasn’t as dominating as Strasburg, he was just as effective in keeping the Nationals from scoring. His fastball was sitting 88-90 mph (as fast as it’s been this year) and he kept the Nats off balance by hitting his spots and uncorking a vicious changeup when necessary. He allowed some baserunners, but the only real threat the Nats had was in the second inning when he hit <span>Matt Wieters</span> and allowed a single to <span>Michael Taylor</span> after two were out. But that brought up Strasburg who grounded out easily for the third out. <span>Taylor</span>’s hit was the final Nationals hit of the game. </p>
<p id="XuwPjf">The Cubs broke through on Strasburg in the sixth inning. <span>Javier Baez</span> led off the inning with a chopper down the third base line that third baseman <span>Anthony Rendon</span> dropped for an error. TBS broadcaster Ron Darling seemed to think the ball should have been called foul, but I didn’t see that from the replay. </p>
<p id="24beNe">Hendricks then bunted Baez over to second base and the Cubs got a chance to face Strasburg a third time. </p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Try that again: the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cubs?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cubs</a> were the best-hitting team in the NL when facing starters a third time.</p>— Joe Sheehan (@joe_sheehan) <a href="https://twitter.com/joe_sheehan/status/916471428161171456?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 7, 2017</a>
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<p id="ljohGA">Indeed. While Ben Zobrist hit a lazy fly ball for the second out (and Zobrist did not look good tonight), Kris Bryant came through with an RBI single to right-center and he went to second on the throw. The play at second was close and the Nationals challenged the call, but it was really close and the call stood. Then Anthony Rizzo came through with a sinking line drive to right field that <span>Bryce Harper</span> played on a short hop. With Bryant running on contact, he easily scored the second run. </p>
<p id="j9XBC2">The final line on Hendricks was seven scoreless innings. He gave up two hits, walked three and hit one batter. He struck out six.</p>
<p id="eEXxc3">The Cubs tacked on a run in the eighth inning when <span>Jon Jay</span> pinch hit for Hendricks. Jay doubled to lead off the inning and then two batters later, Nationals manager Dusty Baker made one of those head-scratching in-game moves. With two outs and Jay on third and Rizzo at the plate, he had reliever <span>Ryan Madson</span> pitch to Rizzo. He could have intentionally walked Rizzo and gotten a righty-on-righty matchup with Contreras. (Or loaded the bases to face defensive replacement <span>Leonys Martin</span>.) Or he could have gone to a left-hander like <span>Oliver Perez</span> or <span>Sean Doolittle</span> to face the lefty Rizzo. Instead, he let Madson pitch to Rizzo and he lined a double the other way to make it 3-0. </p>
<p id="UoEkzr"><span>Carl Edwards Jr.</span> faced the heart of the Nationals order in the ninth: <span>Trea Turner</span>, Harper and Rendon. He retired them in order, striking out <span>Turner</span> and Rendon. </p>
<p id="sXkDsW"><span>Wade Davis</span> pitched a perfect ninth. There was a bit of controversy when <span>Ryan Zimmerman</span> struck out and was hit in the back by the <span>Willson Contreras</span> throw. Dusty Baker complained and the Nats fans booed, but the play wasn’t reviewable and Zimmerman was clearly running outside the lane anyway. </p>
<p id="xia1Kr">The Cubs plan in Washington had to be to win at least one of the first two games and head back to Wrigley Field with the chance to close out the series in Chicago. Mission accomplished. Now the goal will be to win both games in Washington and put the Nats in a terrible position. </p>
<p id="1mb73A">Let’s Fly the W. One down, ten more wins to go. </p>
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https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2017/10/6/16440072/cubs-playoff-rapid-recap-cubs-nationals-kyle-hendricks-anthony-rizzo-kris-bryant-stephen-strasburgJosh Timmers2017-10-06T21:15:02-05:002017-10-06T21:15:02-05:00Overflow thread 3: NLDS Game 1, Cubs vs. Nationals, Friday 10/6, 6:30 CT
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<p id="ZkGknq">——</p>
https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2017/10/6/16403402/overflow-thread-3-nlds-game-1-cubs-vs-nationals-friday-10-6-6-30-ctAl Yellon2017-10-06T20:30:02-05:002017-10-06T20:30:02-05:00Overflow thread 2: NLDS Game 1, Cubs vs. Nationals, Friday 10/6, 6:30 CT
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<figcaption>Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p id="ZkGknq">——</p>
https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2017/10/6/16403398/overflow-thread-2-nlds-game-1-cubs-vs-nationals-friday-10-6-6-30-ctAl Yellon2017-10-06T19:30:02-05:002017-10-06T19:30:02-05:00Overflow thread 1: NLDS Game 1, Cubs vs. Nationals, Friday 10/6, 6:30 CT
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<figcaption>Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p id="ZkGknq">——</p>
https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2017/10/6/16403392/overflow-thread-1-nlds-game-1-cubs-vs-nationals-friday-10-6-6-30-ctAl Yellon2017-10-06T18:25:02-05:002017-10-06T18:25:02-05:00First pitch thread: NLDS Game 1, Cubs vs. Nationals, Friday 10/6, 6:30 CT
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<figcaption>Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p id="PFM7gg">Go get ‘em, Kyle.</p>
https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2017/10/6/16403514/first-pitch-thread-nlds-game-1-cubs-vs-nationals-friday-10-6-6-30-ctAl Yellon2017-10-06T16:30:01-05:002017-10-06T16:30:01-05:00NLDS Game 1 preview: Chicago Cubs vs. Washington Nationals, Friday 10/6, 6:30 CT
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/HCSXFtteVv1Ts_rUPrBiCJ5k-14=/0x0:3913x2609/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/57030123/usa_today_10328846.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Let the postseason begin!</p> <p id="P0gI4S">You’ve heard quite a bit about these two teams over the past few days and likely don’t need to be hyped up any more than you already are.</p>
<p id="avLKpu">In case you do need some hype, check out this quick video from the Cubs:</p>
<div id="iEYCMs">
<blockquote class="twitter-video">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">The journey begins. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FlyTheW?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FlyTheW</a> <a href="https://t.co/1JBkbOhU4p">pic.twitter.com/1JBkbOhU4p</a></p>— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) <a href="https://twitter.com/Cubs/status/916313401596497926?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 6, 2017</a>
</blockquote>
<script async="" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div>
<p id="R58Mmb">A couple of notes from the end of the season:</p>
<ul>
<li id="165rmp">The Cubs led the majors with 423 runs scored in 74 games following the All-Star Break, making that the second-most prolific “second half” in franchise history since the All-Star Game began in 1933. The 1935 Cubs scored 487 runs in 82 games after the break.</li>
<li id="jzyVRC">With 822 runs scored this season, the Cubs surpassed 800 runs for the second season in a row (808 runs in 2016) and just the 10th time in their last 118 seasons starting in 1900. The Cubs have reached 800 runs in consecutive campaigns for the first time in more than 85 years, as the Cubs last did so in three-straight seasons from 1929-1931, also the only other occasion in which they scored at least 800 runs in two-straight seasons starting in 1900. </li>
</ul>
<p id="zdeZKa">This is an encouraging sign for this team, I think. The Nationals scored 333 runs after the All-Star break this year. That ranked seventh in the National League. The teams were close in runs allowed after the break: Nationals, 276; Cubs, 296.</p>
<p id="u9OjZS">As we have done here the last two years, Josh will be writing a “Rapid Recap” that will be posted shortly after the game ends, and this will be the case for every postseason game. I’ll have a comprehensive recap of this game Saturday morning at 8 a.m. CT.</p>
<p id="VuZehr">Also, there will be no additional thread for the late-night (9:30 p.m. CT) Dodgers vs. Diamondbacks Game 1. Taijuan Walker goes for the D-backs, Clayton Kershaw for the Dodgers. Feel free to use the Cubs game threads or Rapid Recap thread to discuss the L.A/Arizona game.</p>
<p id="TdY0O4">Here are today’s particulars.</p>
<p id="HEUZZE"><a href="https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/">Cubs</a> lineup:</p>
<blockquote><p id="1JGTvs">Zobrist RF, Bryant 3B, Rizzo 1B, Contreras C, Schwarber LF, Russell SS, Heyward CF, Baez 2B, Hendricks P</p></blockquote>
<div id="EnctHP">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Here is tonight's <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cubs?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cubs</a> starting lineup!<br><br>NLDS Game 1 preview: <a href="https://t.co/6f55IfHoHS">https://t.co/6f55IfHoHS</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FlyTheW?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FlyTheW</a> <a href="https://t.co/cZaYOKZvjG">pic.twitter.com/cZaYOKZvjG</a></p>— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) <a href="https://twitter.com/Cubs/status/916379013995794443?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 6, 2017</a>
</blockquote>
<script async="" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div>
<p id="OBkH7S"><a href="https://www.federalbaseball.com/">Nationals</a> lineup:</p>
<blockquote><p id="Sgp83s">Turner SS, Harper RF, Rendon 3B, Murphy 2B, Zimmerman 1B, Werth LF, Wieters C, Taylor CF, Strasburg P</p></blockquote>
<h2 id="NJwdXj">
<span>Kyle Hendricks</span> vs. <span>Stephen Strasburg</span>
</h2>
<div class="c-float-left"> <figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/YXgsk1CUMVU3CtKDg2wTlWK2AwA=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/9398301/usa_today_9928126.jpg">
<cite>Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports</cite>
</figure>
</div>
<div class="c-float-right"> <figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Cl0XJmAO0b8wh7m69lo9i9YIWx4=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/9398305/usa_today_9907297.jpg">
<cite>Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports</cite>
</figure>
</div>
<p id="TPuoP0">Kyle Hendricks allowed three runs in seven innings to the Nats <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CHN/CHN201708040.shtml">August 4 at Wrigley Field</a>.</p>
<p id="B6xL7u">All three of those runs scored via two homers by <span>Daniel Murphy</span>. Murphy is 4-for-15 in his career against Hendricks and all the hits are extra-base hits (three homers, a double). That includes a homer off Hendricks in <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CHN/CHN201510200.shtml">Game 3 of the 2015 NLCS</a>.</p>
<p id="4XaRGQ">It should be noted that all of those homers were hit at Wrigley, so perhaps pitching against him in Nationals Park will be different. Murphy hit only six home runs at Nationals Park this year, 17 on the road. He had somewhat similar numbers in 2016 (10 HR at home, 15 on the road).</p>
<p id="SXecDY">You all know how good Kyle has been in the second half: 2.19 ERA, 1.179 WHIP, only six home runs allowed to players other than Daniel Murphy in 13 starts (78 innings).</p>
<p id="lXDMXh">Stop Murphy and I think the Cubs have a good chance to win this game.</p>
<p id="ZlQ4gP">Stephen Strasburg started against the Cubs <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/WAS/WAS201706280.shtml">June 28 in Washington</a> and threw seven solid innings (three runs, two earned), with 13 strikeouts.</p>
<p id="sSiN0g"><span>Willson Contreras</span> homered off him that night. That’s significant, as Strasburg allowed just 13 home runs this season and led the major leagues in HR rate (0.7 per nine innings).</p>
<p id="GoU9HW">Since the All-Star break he’s been pretty much lights-out: 10 starts, 0.86 ERA, 0.814 WHIP, .171 opponents BA. It should be noted, however, that only three of those starts were against teams with winning records (one each vs. the <a href="https://www.crawfishboxes.com/">Astros</a>, <a href="https://www.truebluela.com/">Dodgers</a> and <a href="https://www.azsnakepit.com/">Diamondbacks</a>.) On the other hand, he didn’t give up an earned run to any of those teams.</p>
<p id="glHC9a">So this one will be tough. I expect a pitchers’ duel.</p>
<p id="G8aRG8">Today's game is on TBS. Announcers: Ernie Johnson, Ron Darling, Sam Ryan.</p>
<p id="y4SIM1"><a href="http://mlb.mlb.com/mediacenter/index.jsp?ymd=20140401#date=10/6/2017">Here is the complete MLB.com Mediacenter for today.</a></p>
<p id="Xe5URc"><a href="http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2017_10_06_chnmlb_wasmlb_1&mode=classic">MLB.com Gameday (classic mode)</a> (Note: Going forward, I am going to link to the “classic” Gameday here because <a href="http://mlb.com/">MLB.com</a> broke the links I used to use to get to their “new” Gameday. If you click on this link, you can then click on “New Gameday” at the bottom of the page to get to the updated version. Note that the “classic” Gameday won’t load until just before game time.)</p>
<p id="FaoXoc"><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/previews/2017/WSN201710060.shtml">Baseball-reference.com game preview</a></p>
<p id="G92wAe"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/events/528447/pregame">SB Nation game preview</a></p>
<p id="AScVZw">Please visit our SB Nation <a href="https://www.federalbaseball.com/">Nationals</a> site <a href="http://www.federalbaseball.com/">Federal Baseball</a>. If you do go there to interact with Nationals fans, please be respectful, abide by their individual site rules and serve as a good representation of Cub fans in general and BCB in particular.</p>
<p id="4R9cxt">The 2017 Game Thread procedure will be the same as the one used during 2016. Here's how it works.</p>
<p id="uNrOo7">You'll find the game preview posted separately on the front page, two hours before game time (90 minutes for some early day games following night games).</p>
<p id="Jy7Er2">At the same time, a StoryStream containing the preview will also post on the front page. The First Pitch Thread and all the overflow threads will be published in that stream, as well as the recap. The recap will also live on the front page as a separate post, and at the time I write the recap I will rename the stream "Cubs vs. (Team) (Day of Week) Game Threads" so you can go back and find every thread related to that particular game.</p>
<p id="F5ehVY">You will also be able to find the preview, First Pitch Thread, all the overflow threads and recap in the box marked "Chicago Cubs Game Threads" at the bottom of the front page (you can also find them in <a href="http://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/chicago-cubs-game-threads">this section link</a>). They will also appear in the game's StoryStream as noted above.</p>
<p id="pjBR1E">The First Pitch thread will post at five minutes before game time, then an overflow thread at one hour, two hours and 2:45 after the scheduled game time.</p>
<p id="14mqou">Get tickets to Cubs games from our partner StubHub <a href="https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1516590&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.stubhub.com%2Fchicago-cubs-tickets%2Fperformer%2F5644%2F%3Fgcid%3DchDIG-_-geoUS-_-genAllTix-_-dt170314-_-cmpEvergreenVoxOrganic-_-mktgrBRAND-_-partVox&referrer=sbnation.com&sref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bleedcubbieblue.com%2F2017%2F10%2F6%2F16403670%2Fnlds-game-1-preview-chicago-cubs-washington-nationals-friday" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank">here</a>.</p>
<p id="iHW2Jb">Discuss amongst yourselves.</p>
https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2017/10/6/16403670/nlds-game-1-preview-chicago-cubs-washington-nationals-fridayAl Yellon