Well, that was a bit of a dud.
After beating the Angels on Monday and taking the first two games of this series more recently with a combined 23 runs between the three games, the Cubs bats fell mostly silent at Wrigley Field for the finale.
Altogether, they managed just five hits (just one for extra bases) and two walks across their nine offensive innings (with 12 strikeouts!) and it wasn’t enough, as the Rockies plated three.
But that doesn’t mean the game was without its bright spots – namely, Jose Quintana. Quintana lasted deep into this ballgame (7.1 IP), leaving on a high note, as he got the lead batter in the eighth to ground out to second base before being lifted for Carl Edwards Jr. Indeed, Quintana allowed just six hits (and no walks) in this one, with only three earned runs, one of which wasn’t really his fault (Kris Bryant lost a ball in the sun, which immediately led to a sac fly). It really was another great outing for the Cubs lefty, which has become quite common for him.
Also with another good outing: Carl Edwards Jr.
Edwards took over for Quintana in the 8th and got two quick outs against really good hitters: striking out Trevor Story and Nolan Arenado back-to-back. Since returning from Iowa (and not including today), Edwards has a 2.25 ERA, a 2.33 FIP, buoyed by a 31.7% strikeout rate and – are you ready for this? – 2.4% walk rate! If he’s really “back,” the Cubs bullpen looks downright formidable (considering the return of Pedro Strop and acquisition of Craig Kimbrel).
Ultimately, though, the story of the day was rookie, fill-in starter Peter Lambert, who went 7.0 strong innings with just 4 hits, 1 walk, and 9Ks (Rockies rookie debut record) against the Cubs. He had previously been awful at Triple-A, though he is a bit of a true “prospect” still. I guess you win some, you lose some.