NEWSLETTER
It’s hard to open this one with anything other than a note that hopefully Ian Happ is going to be OK (and also Nico Hoerner, to the extent he feels residual effects from the collision later today or tomorrow morning). There’s just about nothing scarier than when teammates collide at full speed.
The collision happened just after Happ had tied the game at 12 with the 10th homer between the teams on the day. Real Home Run Derby shit. Outside of the injury, that’s the clear story from the game: just an absurd volume of homers and wild scoring swings. The homers were in record territory:
The 10 home runs today tie the single-game Great American Ball Park record (April 14, 2014 between Reds-Cardinals), via the team. #Cubs
— Meghan Montemurro (@M_Montemurro) May 2, 2021
Teams combined to hit at least 10 only once last year so doesn't happen that often. https://t.co/UF3NiCsz3I
— Jesse Rogers (@JesseRogersESPN) May 2, 2021
It’s a credit to the Cubs’ bats (and Reds, I suppose), but also a debit to what was some really rough pitching all day. That 12-12 score carried into extras, and when the Cubs couldn’t score in the top half, Nick Castellanos walked the Reds off with a single. The former Cub had another huge game against his briefly-old mates. Good for him, I suppose.
Otherwise, a ton of huge games for the Cubs – including Happ, which is even more of a bummer – and a ton of frightening appearances from the bullpen and starter Trevor Williams. It’s another series loss for the Cubs, who haven’t won a series since the opening weekend except for that sweep by the Mets.
