What a great night that was. I mean, I was already primed to enjoy it because of the Kyle Schwarber and Jon Lester reunions, plus Adbert Alzolay starting, plus the Cubs’ increasingly great performance at the plate. But then you had three dingers off of Lester, all by old friends, you had Kris Bryant trolling Schwarber and Anthony Rizzo trolling Lester, you had Nico Hoerner making the play of the night, you had Tommy Nance making his 30-year-old rookie debut, and you had the Cubs winning to get back to .500.
Dang that was so much fun. You need games like that every now and again to remind you how good a night can get.
• And, hey, since the Cubs won, even Kyle Schwarber hitting a homer in his return to Wrigley winds up being a good thing:
Sorry, @Cubs. No takebacks.@kschwarb12 // #NATITUDE pic.twitter.com/xVppMfIvQc
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) May 18, 2021
• It was especially good, because the fans in the bleachers treated the homer exactly as they should:
Kyle Schwarber homers to CF in his first game back at Wrigley. The two-run homer cuts the Cubs' lead to 4-3 in the 4th.
A fan tossed the home run ball back onto the field and it made its way to the Nationals dugout thanks to Báez and Rizzo.
— Meghan Montemurro (@M_Montemurro) May 18, 2021
Throw every opponents home run ball back, even if it's Kyle Schwarber. pic.twitter.com/gtYJMMSzlu
— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) May 18, 2021
• That homer, by the way, came right after Schwarber ate some of the Twix candy left in the outfield for him by Kris Bryant. Schwarber joked after the game that the Twix calmed him and set him up for the dinger.
• Although Lester, of course, acknowledged the fans when he first took the field to an ovation, he didn’t when he was taken out of the game following Javy Báez’s homer. But not for any reasons other than what you might expect of a competitor like Lester. From David Ross (Cubs.com): “Jon rarely comes out of his character,” Ross said. “So I know he had to be torn. I’m sure, if you ask him, there had to be a lot of emotions going on. I was out there thinking we should petition the mayor tomorrow for Jon Lester Day.” I’m in.
• The three homers Lester gave up, by the way, were actually a good reminder of what can happen when you are soft-tosser and your pitches are mid-level, even if you locate them right on the edge of the zone:
A look at the three homers Lester surrendered today.
Heyward went oppo on a low-away 4-seamer. Contreras pulled an up-and-in cutter. Javy went oppo on cutter over outer edge. pic.twitter.com/uqPjN6Qkwj
— Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) May 18, 2021
• That’s not a shot at Lester, by the way, because we already know this. It’s more a comment on the earlier-season struggles of Kyle Hendricks and Zach Davies. Their command was off altogether, but ALSO, it just seemed like whenever they were in the middle third of the zone – even if on an edge – they were getting hammered. Guys just love the middle, and if it’s a soft-tosser, they simply have more time to cover both sides of the zone and get a barrel on it. Lester, like Hendricks and Davies, really has to live at the very bottom or very top of the zone.
• Lester will apparently get his tribute video tonight, but here is a great shot of the Schwarber video from last night:
The Cubs just played a tribute video for Kyle Schwarber, after which manager David Ross presented him a No. 12 from the Wrigley scoreboard pic.twitter.com/CL5cNQ4LkQ
— Meghan Montemurro (@M_Montemurro) May 17, 2021
• The night gave Adbert Alzolay a taste:
Adbert Alzolay on fan reaction to Jon Lester and Kyle Schwarber: “It just tells you how much the city loves their players. … The standing ovation for Schwarber and for Jonny Lester today was well deserved. I think those two guys are legends here.”
— Russell Dorsey (@Russ_Dorsey1) May 18, 2021
Adbert Alzolay knows Jon Lester earned those cheers from the Wrigley faithful Monday night. How badly does he want to give Cubs fans reason to someday do the same for him? "So bad you don’t even know. I can’t wait to be in those moments in the postseason." https://t.co/0rpTBVLNLc
— Sahadev Sharma (@sahadevsharma) May 18, 2021
• As for his performance, Alzolay – whose sliders didn’t have its normal break and didn’t get whiffs – knew he was a little off (The Athletic): “At the beginning, I don’t know, I just didn’t feel comfortable with my slider I guess,” Alzolay said. “It was just floating in there. We keep attacking with fastballs and made a couple mistakes there leaving the ball on the plate and got those homers.” You’re gonna have nights like that, and it is a big part of the reason why a starting pitcher cannot become too reliant on any one pitch, even a dominant one like Alzolay’s slider. He’ll keep working, and we’ll keep seeing improvement in the other secondaries over the coming months and years, I reckon.
• The Cubs have a new full-time public address announcer, and it’s a historic hire (and a heckuva game to make your debut! (and he’s a 21-year-old college senior!)):
And now, making his #Cubs debut …
Wrigley Field public address announcer, Jeremiah Paprocki! #CubTogether pic.twitter.com/qdsVMcCPNI
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) May 17, 2021
The Cubs have hired Jeremiah Paprocki as their new PA announcer, making him the first African American PA announcer in team history. He’ll make his Wrigley Field debut tonight.
“I hope that it inspires other African American boys and girls out there.”https://t.co/DV24dLbeM6
— Russell Dorsey (@Russ_Dorsey1) May 17, 2021
• Great story here:
If you’ve ever been to an @IowaCubs game, odds are that you’ve seen team photographer Dylan Heuer. Chances are, you may not know his story. https://t.co/rxYeUxeV8R
— Des Moines Register (@DMRegister) May 18, 2021
• If you start letting yourself think things:
The Cubs are back to .500, now with a POSITIVE run differential (finally), and 2.5 back in the Central. It ain't sexy, but at the moment, it's competitive. pic.twitter.com/Jg7tWYkn4F
— Bleacher Nation Cubs (@BleacherNation) May 18, 2021
— Bleacher Nation Cubs (@BleacherNation) May 18, 2021
• I was just perusing the Obvious Shirts clearance section today, and I actually enjoyed what wound up being a stroll through some very specific moments in recent memory.