There were a lot of interesting storylines today, but the bottom line is simple: The Chicago Cubs won their home opener in glorious fashion.
The bats, notably, scored ten runs for the fifth time this season, keeping a very springy offense alive. And the bullpen managed 7.0 scoreless innings, after going 4.0 scoreless just last night against the Brewers. Considering how the season started, those 11.0 innings are nothing short of a miracle – one I hope we continue to see.
HOWEVA, the Cubs needed the bullpen to go 7.0 innings today, because Jon Lester, who was once again cruising on the mound and at the plate (seriously, he’s a beast), left early with left hamstring tightness. I still believe the move was done out of an abundance of caution, given the score and off-day tomorrow (i.e. the bullpen would get an extra day of rest anyway), but we’ll obviously wait until we hear more from the Cubs. With Mike Montgomery also on the IL, the Cubs seventh starter, whomever that may be (cough, Tyler Chatwood, cough), may get a chance on Sunday. Stay tuned on that front.
Besides that, most of the Cubs offensive damage came in an absolutely wild second inning (and all with two outs). In short, Daniel Descalso reached second on a two-out throwing error, which led to an RBI double for Lester. Kris Bryant was hit by a pitch, Anthony Rizzo reached on a liner off Jameson Taillon’s head, Javy Baez literally threw his bat for a single, Kyle Schwarber reached on an error, and I can go on and on. I’d remember it more fondly, if the inning didn’t almost certainly and directly lead to Lester’s injury.
In any case, today was a success and just what the Cubs (and, let’s be honest, we) needed.
Hey Javy, why is the Cubs offense so good?