NEWSLETTER
The Cubs’ bats did nothing, inning after inning. And then Javy Baez comes through with a home run in the FOURTEENTH INNING to give the Cubs their third one-run lead of the night. SALVATION!
So naturally, Dexter Fowler hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the 14th – just past the outstretched arm of Jason Heyward – to walk it off for the Cardinals. You could try to draft it up worse for the Cubs, but that’s about as bad as it gets.
Riding a four-game losing streak, trying to stave off a sweep in St. Louis, and following the worst loss of the year. The Cubs do that. And Dexter does that.
It was also exactly one year after the weekend series where the Cubs were swept by the Yankees, capped off by that crazy long extra innings loss which dropped the Cubs’ record to 16-15. Deja freaking vu.
Sure, it was another “close” loss, but there were still more gaffes, more unacceptable walks, and another game completely devoid of good looking at bats with runners on base or any semblance of offense. Oh, and it looked like Javy Baez hurt his back before or on his homer. So that’s cool.
The Cubs got an early lead thanks to a Cardinals error, but that was quickly erased on a Jedd Gyorko homer. It actually came on a good pitch by Jon Lester, who then got a really nice cosmic FU from the baseball gods – Lester hit one harder and 23 feet further than Gyorko the next half inning … for an out. Lester actually pitched well tonight when you consider he had to work through two rain delays.
After earlier making a fantastic catch (as he does), Jason Heyward completely whiffed on one he catches 99 times out of 100, yielding the tying run in the 6th. He must have lost the ball in the lights or something, which has been a strange problem for him this year.
I just feel sick, not only because it’s now 2 am and I’ve gotta be up with the kids in four hours after that shitshow, but also because it was already such a low point in this early part of the year for the Cubs … to have this? A marathon game that you thought you’d managed to win, to salvage a little something? And to have that happen? Here’s hoping Joe Maddon has a great few words prepared to help the players turn the corner on this one.
