Bleed Cubbie Blue - Cubs vs. Cardinals Sunday 6/26 game threadsA Chicago Cubs Fan Community Since February 9, 2005https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/47557/cubbieblue.png2022-06-27T09:00:00-05:00http://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/rss/stream/229472562022-06-27T09:00:00-05:002022-06-27T09:00:00-05:002022 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 73
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<figcaption>Photo by Scott Kane/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Cubs rally and then... finish the job in extras, 6-5</p> <p id="MvKi4i">Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in! I was 16 when that line was made famous. To tell the truth, I’m not a Godfather guy. I couldn’t have even told you which movie it was from before I looked it up. I was pretty sure it was an Al Pacino quote, but I wasn’t even sure it was from one of the Godfather movies. </p>
<p id="dFbINd">But, that’s how this road trip makes me feel. There was one in mid-May that did the same thing. The team showed signs of life and like a faithful dog awaiting its owner when the garage door opens, I stood up a little taller and my proverbial tail wagged a little in my brain. How do you know when you’ve got it bad for your team? When every little sign of life perks you up again. It’s like an abusive relationship. I just know I’m going to be let down again at some point. But here I am just a little bit excited like there is some deeper meaning. </p>
<p id="yx047c">It’s a sickness, this fandom thing. But there was 1984 and 1989 and there was the 2008 Cubs and then 2015. Then there was 2016! And then each successive year, it descended a little bit more into frustration. I left out 2003. Maybe for some of you “that year” was 1969 or 1984 (or both). But for me, it’s 2003. That’s the one that really hurt. </p>
<p id="JeD4Gi">But we come back, year after year. We get older and wiser. A year like this one, we didn’t get our hopes up. We mentally set low bars. Maybe for you it was 70 wins or 75 wins or you just really hoped things would click and maybe they can make 80. The future isn’t written, but if you set your goal even as high as 70, you have to know by now it’s highly unlikely. Even allowing for the very poor health of the first half and a probability that they’ll be healthier from here out, this team played itself so far out of contention that really, a trade could happen any time. Oh, they are likely to wait another month. But sometime soon some team is going to strike first. A Cub could be in one of those trades. We just can’t know. </p>
<p id="9fQMw0">On Sunday, the Cubs came off the mat from a 5-0 deficit, rallied to tie the game and then unlike the day before, they carried through and won the game. For some reason, the Cubs leverage relievers weren’t available on Saturday after the Cubs tied the game. Certainly David Robertson has been a busy man lately and no question he was down. But if the others weren’t available, why burn Rowan Wick and Scott Effross early? I certainly don’t trust Wick in those situations right now, but the Cubs are generally comfortable sliding him into a high leverage spot when Robertson isn’t available. </p>
<p id="acRwaO">The Cubs had a real shot at a sweep over the weekend. I don’t think it matters a whole lot for the Cubs. For the Cardinals, I can imagine this was a largely frustrating weekend of baseball. I don’t think this team’s true talent level is 100-110 losses and no selloff of pieces has occurred yet. With the injuries, it is tough to know. But, I still believe there will be a stretch of competitive baseball. Maybe this will be it. The Cubs just played 17 straight days, losing 12 of those games. But, they were 5-5 over the last 10. It’s progress, right? </p>
<p id="NY8jw3">Let’s jump into three positives from the win. </p>
<ol>
<li id="fOcrwJ">David Robertson faced four batters and retired them all. Official scoring doesn’t work that way, but he basically gets the win and the save. David gets the special hat tip, but the entire bullpen was great, including Matt Swarmer who faced seven batters and recorded seven outs, despite issuing a walk. Effective and efficient. Love it. The bullpen absolutely made the “steal” of this game possible. </li>
<li id="kIWZfv">Willson Contreras continues to have a strong season despite trade questions looming. He had a pair of hits and drove in three of the six runs. </li>
<li id="nMcDNS">Most of the lineup contributed in this one, but I’m going to give the nod to David Bote. In his second game back, David had a single and drew two walks. I don’t know how good David can be at this point, but if he can stabilize the defense and get on base some, then Nick Madrigal can focus on trying to be 100 percent healthy before he tries to return. </li>
</ol>
<p id="ehXLZL">With that, we turn our attention to the Heroes and Goats and look at how WPA looked at this game. </p>
<p id="J54oow"><strong>Game 73, June 26: </strong>Cubs 6 at Cardinals 5 (28-45)</p>
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<figcaption>Fangraphs</figcaption>
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<p id="cJLnKI">Reminder: Heroes and Goats are determined by WPA scores and are in no way subjective.</p>
<p id="m6yynY"><strong>THREE HEROES:</strong></p>
<ul><li id="72sLkF">
<strong>Superhero: </strong>David Robertson (.491). 1⅓ IP (4 batters), 2K (W 2-0)</li></ul>
<p id="JOzFqq">*This is the third highest WPA game score of the year by a Cub. </p>
<ul>
<li id="usIVYn">
<strong>Hero: </strong>Willson Contreras (.240). 2-5, 3RBI, 2K</li>
<li id="i3c57q">
<strong>Sidekick: </strong>Mychal Givens (.171). 1⅔ IP (6 batters), H, 3K</li>
</ul>
<p id="ECfSJg"><strong>THREE GOATS:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li id="eyY6YT">
<strong>Billy Goat: </strong>Alec Mills (-.287). 2⅔ IP (15 batters), 6H, BB, 5R, K, HBP</li>
<li id="g6doQt">
<strong>Goat: </strong>Christopher Morel (-.265). 0-4, BB, 2K, DP</li>
<li id="vCuMzE">
<strong>Kid: </strong>Yan Gomes (-.183). 2-5, 2B, R, DP</li>
</ul>
<p id="x29NQC"><strong>WPA Play of the Game: </strong>Yan Gomes came to the plate after the Cubs had taken a 6-5 lead. The bases were loaded and only one was out. The Cubs had a very good chance to add on, but it was eliminated when Gomes hit into a double play. (.194)</p>
<p id="gzMbum">*Cubs Play of the Game: Willson Contreras led off the tenth inning with an RBI single to give the Cubs the lead. I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to being able to talk about a leadoff RBI single. (.189)</p>
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<p id="EDY3bo"><strong>Rizzo Award Cumulative Standings: </strong>(Top 3/Bottom 3)</p>
<p id="eEPeIk">The award is named for Anthony Rizzo, who finished first in this category three of the first four years it was in existence and four times overall. He also recorded the highest season total ever at +65.5. The point scale is three points for a Superhero down to negative three points for a Billy Goat.</p>
<ul>
<li id="3V18Tb">Nico Hoerner +18</li>
<li id="vPRewa">David Robertson +14.5</li>
<li id="vQE8W6">Willson Contreras +13.5</li>
<li id="hQIS2m">Daniel Norris -7.5</li>
<li id="QMVx7E">Yan Gomes -9</li>
<li id="QvXlEd">Jason Heyward -16.5</li>
</ul>
<p id="Orihed"><strong>Up Next: </strong>Finally, a day off on Monday. I know I’ll enjoy it, so I’m sure the team will too. The Cubs will open a three-game series with the Reds Tuesday night at Wrigley Field. The Reds won Sunday, but after a bit of a bounce off their historically bad open to the season, they’ve lost eight of 10 and are 22 games under .500 at 25-47. Keegan Thompson (7-2, 3.10) is lined up to start for the Cubs. Luis Castillo (2-4, 3.71) is in line to start for the Reds. That’s a lot better matchup on paper than you’d expect from two of the worst teams in baseball. </p>
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https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2022/6/27/23184350/2022-cubs-heroes-and-goats-game-73Thomas Smith2022-06-26T17:40:11-05:002022-06-26T17:40:11-05:00Cubs 6, Cardinals 5: Were you not entertained?
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<figcaption>Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>The Cubs played one of their better games of the year — after a bad start — and won the series in St. Louis.</p> <p id="wYnZDQ">Early on, this was shaping up to be another one of those sad-sack recap games, or maybe even a one-liner. Alec Mills got himself pounded, allowing five runs including three homers without finishing the third inning, and the Cubs entered the fourth trailing 5-0. (Not only that, the first two innings took an hour. Can’t wait for the pitch clock.)</p>
<p id="2RmYCN">But the Cubs mounted a stirring five-run comeback in the fourth without a home run, and then the bullpen threw lockdown relief — 7⅓ innings, two hits, two walks, nine strikeouts — and a single by Willson Contreras drove in Nelson Velázquez with what turned out to be the winning run in the 10th, and <a href="https://www.mlb.com/gameday/cubs-vs-cardinals/2022/06/26/661969#game_state=final,game_tab=box,game=661969">the Cubs had a satisfying 6-5 win over the Cardinals</a>. That completed a series win, their first road series win since they took back-to-back sets in San Diego and Arizona last month.</p>
<p id="hc4fPe">Let’s set the scene in the top of the fourth, with the Cubs down 5-0. We’re going to call this the Adrian Sampson Inning. No, he wasn’t in the game, but Marquee put him on to speak to him from the dugout. Normally, I don’t really care for these but Sampson was not only cogent in his remarks, but Boog and JD got him involved in calling some of the action, one of the better dugout interviews I’ve heard. You’ll hear some of this in the highlights below, if you didn’t see the game.</p>
<p id="KplW4y">Nico Hoerner and Yan Gomes began the fourth with singles, and <a href="https://mlb-cuts-diamond.mlb.com/FORGE/2022/2022-06/26/1ac1aec2-8ead37ad-436106e5-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_4000K.mp4">Alfonso Rivas made it 5-1 [VIDEO]</a>.</p>
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<p id="MBdelN">David Bote followed with a single, loading the bases. One out later, <a href="https://mlb-cuts-diamond.mlb.com/FORGE/2022/2022-06/26/27dc0f94-093f939e-1c719383-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_4000K.mp4">Rafael Ortega doubled in a pair of runs to make it 5-3 [VIDEO]</a>.</p>
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<p id="KiAGWw">Bote stopped at third, but both runners scored on <a href="https://mlb-cuts-diamond.mlb.com/FORGE/2022/2022-06/26/df3c184d-767ddaf1-1ffc23aa-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_4000K.mp4">a single by Willson Contreras that tied the game [VIDEO]</a>.</p>
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<p id="kQXZBt">That’s a lot of good hitting there, five runs scoring with only one extra-base hit (Ortega’s double) and in that inning, the Cubs went 4-for-5 with RISP. That’s... excellent.</p>
<p id="1IfP7J">And that’s where it stayed while Matt Swarmer, Chris Martin, Rowan Wick, Mychal Givens and David Robertson shut down the Cardinals offense. Outstanding work, and the reason Swarmer’s in the pen — this was originally supposed to be his start — is that after his struggles starting, the team wanted to take a look at him in relief. Early returns are good. Swarmer’s basically a two-pitch pitcher, four-seamer and slider, and that sort of thing plays well in relief, particularly since that slider is really good. I’d like to see more of him in higher-leverage relief situations now.</p>
<p id="nuY8yI">The Cardinals might have taken the lead — and maybe won the game — if not for a fantastic catch by Ian Happ with a runner on first and two out in the seventh. <a href="https://mlb-cuts-diamond.mlb.com/FORGE/2022/2022-06/26/221f12a0-c7febe97-287c1595-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_4000K.mp4">Here, have a look [VIDEO].</a></p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Really nice sliding catch in LF corner by Ian Happ to rob Goldschmidt of a hit, ending the 7th and preserving a 5-5 tie.<br><br>Happ entered today with 4 DRS in left this season: <a href="https://t.co/SKuR37jGNb">https://t.co/SKuR37jGNb</a></p>— Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) <a href="https://twitter.com/MLBastian/status/1541166624518115328?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 26, 2022</a>
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<p id="TjhCNr">Four defensive runs saved (DRS) is really good for this stage of the season. That’s for those of you who don’t think Happ is a good left fielder. He most certainly is.</p>
<p id="qIQjQT">The game went to extras, and Velázquez, who had struck out to end the ninth, was the Manfred man. Contreras, on an 0-2 pitch, singled to right, <a href="https://bdata-producedclips.mlb.com/1dfda663-bfd1-4038-91e0-9c1f3d8e7a72.mp4">scoring Velázquez with the lead run [VIDEO]</a>.</p>
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<p id="Maf31e">One out later, Patrick Wisdom doubled and Hoerner was intentionally passed to load the bases. The strategy worked when Gomes hit into an inning-ending double play.</p>
<p id="mFmrHi">So it was up to Robertson, who had recorded the final out of the ninth, to finish things off. Tommy Edman was St. Louis’ Manfred man. Robertson got Brendan Donovan on a called third strike that Donovan was convinced was ball four — he started trotting to first.</p>
<p id="3NQLuT">Pitch six was not ball four, Brendan:</p>
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<p id="JSAO1l">Robertson then got Paul Goldschmidt to ground out, with Edman taking third.</p>
<p id="LKBSO4">And then he finished it off by <a href="https://bdata-producedclips.mlb.com/4ad10cbc-0eae-4350-928f-a7cc0c959104.mp4">striking out Nolan Arenado on a nasty cutter [VIDEO]</a>.</p>
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<p id="Ypft64">Beating the Cardinals is always great, no matter where the teams are in the standings. The Cubs have now played the top two teams in the NL Central — the Cardinals and Brewers — absolutely even this year, 4-4 vs. St. Louis and 5-5 vs. Milwaukee. Too bad they couldn’t do the same against other teams.</p>
<p id="E0A615">They are going to have to figure out what to do with Mills, though. He’s just looked awful in most of his outings, and has allowed seven home runs in 17⅓ innings this year. Yikes.</p>
<p id="UKPZjs">The Cubs will surely have a happy flight to Chicago this evening and enjoy an off day Monday. They’ll reconvene at Wrigley Field Tuesday evening to begin a three-game series against the Reds. Keegan Thompson will start the series opener against Luis Castillo. Game time Tuesday is 7:05 p.m. CT and TV coverage will be via Marquee Sports Network.</p>
https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2022/6/26/23184175/cubs-cardinals-recap-willson-contreras-david-robertson-mlb-scoresAl Yellon2022-06-26T14:45:00-05:002022-06-26T14:45:00-05:00Overflow thread: Cubs vs. Cardinals, Sunday 6/26, 1:15 CT
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<figcaption>Photo by Scott Kane/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p id="oFqjq9">——</p>
https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2022/6/26/23183214/overflow-thread-cubs-vs-cardinals-sunday-6-26-1-15-ctAl Yellon2022-06-26T13:10:00-05:002022-06-26T13:10:00-05:00First pitch thread: Cubs vs. Cardinals, Sunday 6/26, 1:15 CT
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<figcaption>Photo by Adam Hunger/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p id="oFqjq9">Go get ‘em, Alec.</p>
https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2022/6/26/23183212/first-pitch-thread-cubs-vs-cardinals-sunday-6-26-1-15-ctAl Yellon2022-06-26T11:00:00-05:002022-06-26T11:00:00-05:00Chicago Cubs vs. St. Louis Cardinals preview, Sunday 6/26, 1:15 CT
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<figcaption>Photo by Scott Kane/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>The Cubs go for a road series win.</p> <p id="HEehA5">Sunday notes...</p>
<ul>
<li id="Gv0JsU">
<strong>HAPP-ENINGS:</strong> Ian Happ has a .613 SLG at Busch Stadium, the best all-time for a Cub with at least 30 games/100 plate appearances at the Cardinals home park. Happ hit his first MLB homer in his first MLB game at Busch <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN201705130.shtml">May 13, 2017</a>, and has homered there seven times, his most in any park other than Wrigley Field.</li>
<li id="pv2It2">
<strong>ORTEGA NOTES:</strong> Rafael Ortega, last 23 games since May 26: .359/.438/.547 (23-for-64) with three doubles and three home runs. Overall as a Cub: .283/.360/.438 in 525 PA with 15 home runs and 16 stolen bases, good for 2.5 bWAR.</li>
<li id="f1n23K">
<strong>WORDS OF WISDOM:</strong> Patrick Wisdom walked just 15 times in 180 PA through the end of May (.306 OBP). He’s walked 13 times in 93 PA in June (.344 OBP) with four games remaining in the month. He’s also cut down on his strikeouts: 40 in 106 PA in May, 27 in 93 PA in June.</li>
<li id="rLwRCN">
<strong>SPLITTING:</strong> The Cubs have evenly split the last 18 games (9-9) they have played in Busch Stadium dating to July 30, 2019 (the teams did not meet in St. Louis in 2020). Overall, though, the Cubs are 60-78 in this edition of Busch Stadium, which opened in 2006.</li>
</ul>
<p id="sj1ORn">Here are today’s particulars.</p>
<p id="628IUi"><a href="https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/">Cubs</a> lineup:</p>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Here is today's <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cubs?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cubs</a> starting lineup for the series finale in St. Louis. <a href="https://t.co/SPiaVQLZS0">pic.twitter.com/SPiaVQLZS0</a></p>— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) <a href="https://twitter.com/Cubs/status/1541080707413549058?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 26, 2022</a>
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<p id="nU1Gao">The <a href="https://www.vivaelbirdos.com/">Cardinals</a> lineup was not available at posting time. Please check <a href="https://twitter.com/bleedcubbieblue">the BCB Twitter feed</a> for the Cardinals lineup.</p>
<h2 id="weDoee">Alec Mills, RHP vs. Jack Flaherty, RHP</h2>
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<cite>USA TODAY NETWORK</cite>
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<cite>USA TODAY NETWORK</cite>
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<p id="2x07i9">Alec Mills has made five MLB relief appearances since coming back from back problems. Apart from appearing in the 2-1, 13-inning loss to the Yankees June 10, the average score of the other four games was Opponents 14, Cubs 4, meaning he was just eating up innings in blowouts. </p>
<p id="mdIIdn">He’s given up a lot of runs for an 8.59 ERA, but a lot of those scored after games were far out of hand.</p>
<p id="HOM9zO">So, what to expect in this one? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯</p>
<p id="DOJp4E">Jack Flaherty is coming back from a shoulder injury that cost him much of the last part of 2021 and the first part of this season.</p>
<p id="SIMyje">He’s made two starts so far this year and hasn’t gone past the third inning in either one, maxing out at 71 pitches in his last outing.</p>
<p id="fpCvxl">So... I would expect the Cardinals to still be careful with him, and perhaps the Cubs can get to him early. Only Willson Contreras (6-for-21, one HR) and Jason Heyward (2-for-18, one HR) have faced him more than a handful of times.</p>
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<cite><a class="ql-link" href="https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/pitchmix#621219_2022" target="_blank">Statcast</a></cite>
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<cite><a class="ql-link" href="https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/pitchmix#664161_2022" target="_blank">Statcast</a></cite>
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<p id="m6npY7">Today’s game is on Marquee Sports Network. <a href="https://www.marqueesportsnetwork.com/providers/">Here’s a list of providers currently carrying Marquee<strong>.</strong></a> </p>
<p id="6w2xna"><a href="https://www.mlb.com/live-stream-games/2022/06/26/">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=2022_06_26_chnmlb_slnmlb_1">MLB.com Gameday</a></p>
<p id="iDRiK8"><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/previews/2022/SLN202206260.shtml">Baseball-reference.com game preview</a></p>
<p id="7oSHCm">Please visit our SB Nation Cardinals site <a href="http://www.vivaelbirdos.com/">Viva el Birdos</a>. If you do go there to interact with Cardinals 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="mRtOMf">The 2022 Game Thread procedure will be like last years, similar to what we’ve used for Spring Training.</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, titled “Cubs vs. (Team) (Day of week/date) game threads.” It will contain every post related to that particular game, including the First Pitch Thread and the overflow thread, as well as the recap when it’s published. The recap will also live on the front page as a separate post.</p>
<p id="F5ehVY">You will also be able to find the preview, First Pitch Thread and the overflow thread 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>). The StoryStream for each game can also be found in that section.</p>
<p id="pjBR1E">The First Pitch thread will post at five minutes before game time, then an overflow thread at 90 minutes after the scheduled game time.</p>
<p id="cWIBoH">Discuss amongst yourselves.</p>
<p id="YKOZbJ"></p>
https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2022/6/26/23178473/chicago-cubs-st-louis-cardinals-preview-sundayAl Yellon