Outside of some intrigue in the 9th as Joe Maddon protested Sean Doolittle’s toe-tapping delivery (remember how MLB ruled Carl Edwards’ version was illegal (Doolittle’s was not nearly as stark, for what it’s worth)), this was a pretty hum-drum loss for the Cubs.
Sean Doolittle, Tap Move (protested by the Cubs). pic.twitter.com/zVCCD6cPgz
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 19, 2019
Stephen Strasburg looks unbeatable when he’s on, and tonight he was on. It’s hard for me to feel too bad about the Cubs’ lack of production tonight.
Jon Lester gave up plenty of hard contact in this one, so maybe his results were justified in that respect. Lots and lots of hits, and an inability to put guys away once he got them to two strikes. That said, the run-scoring situations were full of a lot of flukey stuff – a poorly handled bunt/throw by David Bote that was ruled a hit, a groundball double up the line that may have been foul, and a home run that had just a 25% chance of even being a hit.
The Cubs’ bullpen was decent, at least. Shrug. Like I said: pretty hum-drum loss, other than the Cubs finishing the game under protest (lulz). Try to win the series tomorrow.