Thanks to the combined effect of tracking a Yu Darvish start and then a bullpen finish, the tension inherent in today’s game kinda took our focus off of another huge offensive day for the Cubs. Eight runs – that’s a good day!
I didn’t get a chance to rundown the highlights as the game was going on, but I figured those of you who missed the game, or who just want to enjoy it again tonight, I’d lay out the offensive surge.
It started with Albert Almora keeping up his hot streak, sending one out the other way:
.@albertalmora’s 5th home run of the month! #EverybodyIn pic.twitter.com/0mEB20uwcD
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) May 25, 2019
That was a really impressive shot the other way, going with a 95 mph fastball on the outer third, letting it get deep in the zone, and lifting it. That was 415 feet the other way – not necessarily the kind of power you associate with Almora, but it’s in there!
Addison Russell followed Almora’s shot with an opposite-field jack of his own, and a nearly identical one at that:
Russell *also* took a 95 mph fastball deep the other way (talk about missing your spot on 0-2!), and at 414 feet, it was just one shy of Almora’s.
Anthony Rizzo put the next two runs on the board with a near home run that was somehow not a triple:
.@ARizzo44’s last seven games:
.481 avg (13-for-27)
4 HR
11 RBI
9 R
3 2B pic.twitter.com/EffBY9yWYo— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) May 25, 2019
Yeah, he’s really, really locked in right now.
Jason Heyward added an opposite-field shot of his own, and even acknowledged that the wind helped him as he rounded the bases:
Jason Heyward's 7th home run of the year: pic.twitter.com/PsKWyzuzRt
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) May 25, 2019
That was 99.9 mph off the bat, so he did hit it well, but at a 38 degree launch angle, that’s a lazy, deep fly out the vast majority of the time. Wrigley’s winds cut both ways today!
And, of course, there was David Bote’s decisive double in the 8th inning:
Love the side look:
The Colossus of Clutch. pic.twitter.com/MYanLviYzD
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) May 25, 2019