It’s easy to look at last night’s final score – 10-2 – and think it was a laugher.
Sure, by the end, it was very nearly an “enough already” situation, but the Marlins had the tying run at the plate as late as the 7th (Pedro Strop put a stop to that (hats to the left)). And the Cubs actually trailed in the game in the 5th inning.
Unable to break through against lefty Jeff Locke, it took a two-out, three-run Anthony Rizzo blast to get the Cubs their first lead.
Go-ahead blast?
Go ahead and #VoteRizzo: https://t.co/IwXpmcY3yB pic.twitter.com/wEkO6yp39c
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) June 7, 2017
It wasn’t the deepest shot of the year for Rizzo, but with the wind blowing in, he had to rip that thing out at 106 mph to get to the seats.
The homer was Rizzo’s 13th of the year, tying him with Kris Bryant for the team lead. The two are tied for 16th in the homer-happy NL, though just three behind the leaders, Ryan Zimmerman, Justin Bour, Scott Schebler, and Mark Reynolds (are you serious with those guys?).
As has become the delightful custom, Rizzo’s turnaround homer got the Cubs’ bullpen up and dancing:
We can dance if we want to. pic.twitter.com/7RqIVjQr9L
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) June 7, 2017
As for Rizzo, the homer came as part of a two-hit night, and part of a longer binge that has seen him go deep seven times in the last three weeks. During that stretch – which came after a deep slump – Rizzo is hitting .282/.400/.620 (163 wRC+) with a 4.7%(!) strikeout rate. If not for the .217 BABIP, his numbers would be insane during that period.