I know it’s a long season, but it was really nice to see the Cubs win this one. With all the off-days and the postponed game, it would have been excruciating to go through this week of baseball, and get to Friday without seeing a Cubs win.
Jake Arrieta didn’t have his best fastball command today, but the stuff was as nasty as always, and the Cardinals couldn’t do much with him but hope that he kept missing the zone. That happened a bit in the first – two walks – but not much thereafter, and Arrieta put it on cruise control. Miguel Montero looked good behind the plate, too.
Similarly, Lance Lynn was dominating the Cubs for six innings, putting the ball almost exactly where he wanted every time, striking guys out and inducing weak contact. He made three mistakes on the day, and, unfortunately for him, they happened all in the row in the 7th inning: hit Anthony Rizzo with a pitch, threw the ball away on a pickoff attempt, and then left one up in the zone to Starlin Castro. The result? A run-scoring single by Castro, who took second on the throw. A nice bunt by Chris Coghlan later, and Montero drove in Castro with a sac fly.
From there, the bullpen – used liberally, given the off-days – nailed things down. And everyone has a good night and a good Thursday.