A day after the Cubs’ bats could not be stopped, they could not get going. I know: you are cynical and you expected this.
Whatever the actual meaning behind it, the bats simply didn’t seem to be ripping the ball today like they were yesterday, unlike those of the Pirates, who were consistently barreling the ball and frequently finding the seats. All six of their runs today came via the home run. Hey, all of the Cubs’ runs came via homers, too, it’s just that, well, there was only one of them.
Schwarber really had the only good offensive day for the Cubs, though Ian Happ did have two hits (though one was an excuse-me swing double). The team was 0-7 with runners in scoring position, but you no doubt knew that already.
Kyle Hendricks looked adequate from the seats, though there were obviously a couple mistakes that got punished. All three of his walks on the day were of the intentional variety.
The real pitching story, if you wanted to pick one, was awfully uncomfortable ..