The games may not matter in the standings – reverse or otherwise – at this point, but don’t tell that to the players. They still want to win.
Enter Ian Happ in the 9th inning, sending one 451 feet out to give the Cubs the win:
.@ihapp_1 for the lead! pic.twitter.com/ahQLLwIcsu
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) October 3, 2021
That was number 25 for Happ, a career high. What a year of extremes he’s had. For tonight, it was fun.
I still don’t know what to make of Adrian Sampson. I’ve said it enough times so you probably know by now: he keeps getting great results despite terrible peripherals AND unimpressive contact quality. At least he had the strikeouts tonight?
There’s nothing in Sampson’s career trajectory that suggests he is a particularly plausible late-career breakout guy, so I still really have trouble buying this (enough to say the Cubs should keep him on the 40-man roster all offseason). But what if something has just clicked with the Cubs’ pitching infrastructure? It’s so hard to know on such small samples, but there are admittedly times when he looks damn good.
Trayce Thompson got himself another big dinger tonight – his first career grand slam – which, hey, good for him. Finish the year strong, and set yourself up for an opportunity next year (likely a minor league deal, maybe or maybe not with the Cubs).