NEWSLETTER
Kris Bryant didn’t get to play hero in his return to Wrigley Field, but he did get a very nice moment before the game and a standing ovation in his first at bat. And the Giants won, easily, so I’m sure he’s fine with it.
Kyle Hendricks was as good today as he’s looked in a month. The sinker and the changeup were both dancing and tunneling well, and he looked mostly unchallenged through his six innings of work. Good to see after the ugly stretch he’d had. Bonus points for striking out Kris Bryant twice on changeups. “So THAT’S what those are like,” Bryant could definitely be heard muttering to himself on the way back to the dugout.
The bullpen, however, was a disaster. Trevor Megill had an implosion outing, which he’d avoided for a while. The dingers are a problem. I like the delivery and the size, the velocity and the movement on the breaking pitches. But he throws just enough dickballs that get crushed that it has reduced the value of the rest of what he does.
Michael Rucker gave up a couple runs, too, and it was only Tommy Nance’s return that offered up a scoreless frame. I will dig into more of the data later, but Nance looked pretty darn pitchable today. Great movement (and velo) on the two-seamer, and a really nasty slider mixed in.
Frank Schwindel went deep, as he does, but that was it for the Cubs on an otherwise special day.
