For the third time in five years, the San Francisco Giants are headed to the World Series, which is pretty incredible. The other two times they won the thing, but they weren’t facing the unbeatable Kansas City Royals …
Adam Wainwright pitched reasonably well in his final start of the year (total innings for the season: 243, much of it with a balky elbow), turning the game over to the bullpen in the 8th inning with a 3-2 lead. Pat Neshek gave up a homer to Michael Morse to tie it. Then, in the bottom of the 9th, Mike Matheny went with Michael Wacha in the tie game – the youngster hadn’t pitched yet in the playoffs, so it as a really kind spot to put him in – who gave up a hit, a walk, and a walk-off three run homer to Travis Ishikawa:
Your browser does not support iframes.
That’s a fun celebration right there, and kudos to Joe Buck for the very understated (1951 throwback) call.
The homer was something of a redemption for Ishikawa who misplayed a ball earlier in the game, leading to the Cardinals’ first run. Madison Bumgarner went 8 innings, gave up 3 earned on 5 hits and 2 walks, and struck out 5.
As you might expect, Mike Matheny is being excoriated for the decision to go with Wacha, who hadn’t pitched in three weeks after dealing with a shoulder issue midseason and then not quite being his dominating self late in the year. It didn’t make much sense at the time, and now the poor kid will have all offseason to stew about the homer he gave up. And the heat will be on Matheny for brutal decision-making, despite the Cardinals’ relative success throughout the year.
Why not go to Carlos Martinez or Seth Maness or even closer Trevor Rosenthal, by the way? This is the wrong kind of thinking I hope I never, ever hear come out of the mouth of a Cubs manager:
Matheny, when asked about not using closer T. Rosenthal in 9th: "We can't bring him in, in a tie-game situation. We're on the road.”
That kind of response would anger me with respect to a regular season game, let alone the potential FINAL INNING of an LCS appearance. When every batter you face could end your season, you go with the best pitcher you have, whatever label you’ve given them.
Now you can take the weekend. The Giants and Royals don’t convene for Game 1 of the World Series until Tuesday night in Kansas City.
Brett Taylor is the Lead Cubs Writer at Bleacher Nation, and you can find him on Twitter at @BleacherNation and on LinkedIn here.
Brett is also the founder of Bleacher Nation, which opened up shop in 2008 as an independent blog about the Chicago Cubs. Later growing to incorporate coverage of other Chicago sports, Bleacher Nation is now one of the largest regional sports blogs on the web.
Yep. That's about as bad as it gets. All those fears and anxieties you felt when Justin Steele took that liner off his knee in spring training came back tonight, only this time it's a soft tissue injury during the...
*SHORT COURTS: It's Time To Bring The Home Court, Home! Looking for a unique way to celebrate your athlete or team before you peruse the FIRST CHICAGO CUBS LINEUP of the Year? Don't miss out! For just one more week...
I am still mostly incapacitated at the moment, so apologies for the short shrift on such an otherwise blessed day. In between pokes and prods, I wanted to share a chart I saw that was pretty interesting, even if unsurprising:...
ESPN was the first to throw some love the Cubs way this week, with an overwhelming majority of their writers, analysts, and editors picking the Chicago Cubs to win the NL Central in 2024. But the love doesn't end there....
You know where you want to spend your Opening Day morning? The hospital! Suffice to say, this is not how I imagined getting HYPED for the Cubs' opener. I guess I'll just have to think about all the possible lineup...
Cubs vs Rangers — THE REGULAR SEASON IS HERE! Wake up and rejoice. Later tonight, the Cubs will begin their march toward October Baseball against the (reigning World Series champion) Texas Rangers in Arlington. Justin Steele is getting the nod...
Boom. We made it. The offseason is over, and the Cubs regular season - and those elevated expectations - begins tomorrow. But in case you slept through the winter, I'm here to catch you up on everything you need to...
There's no way around it: The Chicago Cubs did *not* have the offseason we hoped they might after making Craig Counsell the highest paid manager in MLB history. Not that they did poorly, mind you. Cody Bellinger, Shota Imanaga, and...
Finally, with Cody Bellinger in the fold, we can start focusing more seriously on the season ahead. So today, I thought we'd take a look at the Cubs 2024 schedule. You can flip through the Cubs 2024 schedule right here...
I get it. Sports betting isn't for everyone — like, say, the interpreter for an international baseball superstar — but some of us quite enjoy it! If you are one of those people, this article is for you. Below, I'm...
On Friday, Kyle Tucker and the Houston Astros (0-1) face Juan Soto and the New York Yankees (1-0), with first pitch scheduled for 8:10 PM ET at Minute Maid Park.Keep reading to find out all the details on how to...
The Toronto Blue Jays (1-0), led by Vladimir Guerrero Jr., visit the Tampa Bay Rays (0-1) at 6:50 PM ET on Friday.Keep scrolling to find out all the details on how to watch Tampa Bay square off against Toronto live.When...
Yep. That's about as bad as it gets. All those fears and anxieties you felt when Justin Steele took that liner off his knee in spring training came back tonight, only this time it's a soft tissue injury during the...
The Portland Trail Blazers (19-54) are heavy underdogs (+14.5) as they attempt to break an eight-game losing streak when they visit the Miami Heat (39-33) at 8:00 PM ET on Friday, March 29, 2024 at FTX Arena. The matchup airs...
The Cleveland Cavaliers (44-29) take the court against the Philadelphia 76ers (39-34) as 7.5-point favorites on Friday, March 29, 2024 at 7:30 PM ET on NBCS. The matchup has an over/under of 210 points.Cavaliers vs. 76ers OddsCavaliers odds to win:...
The New York Knicks (44-28) are heavily favored (-10) to continue a three-game winning streak when they visit the San Antonio Spurs (17-56) at 8:00 PM ET on Friday, March 29, 2024 at AT&T Center. The contest airs on BSSW....
The Detroit Pistons (12-61) are 2.5-point underdogs as they attempt to turn around an eight-game losing streak when they visit the Washington Wizards (14-59) on Friday, March 29, 2024 at Capital One Arena. The matchup airs at 7:00 PM ET...
The Los Angeles Lakers (41-32) will attempt to extend a five-game winning streak when they hit the road to play the Indiana Pacers (41-33) on Friday, March 29, 2024 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse as just 2.5-point underdogs. The game airs at...
The Western's top two teams, the Denver Nuggets (51-22) and the Minnesota Timberwolves (50-22), hit the court at Ball Arena on Friday, March 29, 2024 at 9:00 PM ET on ALT. The Nuggets are favored by 6.5 points at home....
The Golden State Warriors (38-34) play the Charlotte Hornets (18-54) as double-digit, 11.5-point favorites on Friday, March 29, 2024 at 7:00 PM ET on NBCS. The over/under is set at 218 in the matchup.Warriors vs. Hornets OddsWarriors odds to win:...