Weekend Catch-Up: Residual No-Hitter, Homers, Baez, Beating Reds, More

The three days that followed Thursday’s game couldn’t possibly match that one, but, all in all, it was pretty fun weekend …

Friday, April 22

• Watching the highlights from Jake Arrieta’s second career no-hitter.
• Much more on Jake Arrieta’s very special day.
• Overshadowed, understandably, David Ross actually had a huge game, himself.
• You had questions, and Michael had answers in the latest Ask Away, including bits on Jorge Soler’s defense, how regulars could be displaced, and more.
• A great minor league promotion involving a Jake Arrieta beard.
• My experience at Great American Ballpark on the day Jake Arrieta just happened to throw a no-hitter.
• The Cubs shut down the Reds again, and Anthony Rizzo homered for the third straight game.

Saturday, April 23

• Javy Baez hit a laser homer, and also showed off his wide range of value.
• The Cubs have a minor league outfielder on a rare pace.
• Believe it or not, despite the lofty record, you could argue the Cubs have actually been unlucky.
• More on Jake Arrieta’s no-hitter, including how the team celebrated, and how the Cubs got him in the first place.
• This time it was the Reds’ turn to put a whoopin’ on the Cubs and and their bullpen.

Sunday, April 24

• Albert Almora and Ian Happ crushed dingers, and Willson Contreras got dinged behind the plate.
• Confronting the tricky issue of keeping a crowded bullpen fresh without artificially restricting starter success.
• The Cubs beat up on the Reds 9-0 in the weekend’s series finale.
• We wrapped things up with the Series Review for the Reds series.