Enhanced Box Score: Giants 5, Cubs 3 – May 21, 2016
I know it’s true that, in a given season, there will be many losses that you look at and think, “Well, that’s why you can’t predict baseball, because I never would have predicted that that starter would dominate, while this starter would really struggle, and that lineup would be better than this lineup.”
But I wish that kind of thing wouldn’t happen so many times in a given week, because I’m little burned out on saying it right now.
The strike zone tonight was erratic, and the shadows at times were probably brutal at the plate. But each team had to deal with the same conditions, and the Giants worked Jon Lester over early, while the Cubs could do nothing with Matt Cain. Lester was bounced before he completed the third inning, ending a streak of 48(!) straight games with a Cubs starter going at least five innings. I knew it would end eventually, but boy I did not think it would be Lester to end it.
We’ll talk more about his outing tomorrow, I’m sure, but it’s worth pointing out that Lester came into tonight’s start with a completely unsustainable 91.1% LOB rate. Eventually, hits were going to be strung together and runs were going to be scored.
