Well, put a bow on it. The 2017 regular season is in the books. And it was a very good one, all things considered, for the Chicago Cubs. More on that this week as we head toward the playoffs.
As for today’s game, despite the presence of History’s Greatest Leadoff Hitter, the Cubs’ regulars couldn’t muster any offense before they were lifted, Spring Training-style, for a myriad of subs. Ben Zobrist was the only regular who stayed in the whole game, perhaps requesting that so he could get extra at bats.
On the pitching side of things, Mike Montgomery threw his obligatory three innings, and stands ready to serve in almost any pitching role imaginable in the playoffs. What a valuable guy to have, eh?
John Lackey came in after Montgomery, pitching like a true reliever for an inning. A test to see if he could handle the role physically for the playoffs, or just a one-last-time-at-Wrigley kind of thing? We shall see.
Albert Almora hit a dong off of Raisel Iglesias, which is about as crazy as it gets when it comes to a huge split hitter and a huge split pitcher – perhaps Almora’s recent success against righties really is setting him up well for the future.
And we’re off to the playoffs, my friends. Enjoy the next few days. Your body will slowly tense up into a taught ball of nerves by Wednesday.