Keegan Thompson delivered another solid 3.2 innings of work. Michael Rucker looked pretty good over his 2.0 innings of relief. Nico Hoerner made a fantastic defensive play. And Ian Happ got on base twice, preserving one of the top OBPs in MLB.
Aaaaaand that’s about it for the good stuff.
The Cubs didn’t get their teeth knocked in or anything like that tonight, but the overall performance (from both sides of town, really) matched the weather. Unbearable.
So, sure, maybe the Scott Effross opener experiment was a little more unlucky than bad. And, yeah, I had fun during Alfonso Rivas’ 14-pitch plate appearance (which indirectly knocked Michael Kopech out of the game early), but nothing about that contest was particularly promising for the Cubs. Not the 12 strikeouts, not the 30 (or so?) double plays. Not the suspiciously low velocity for Mychal Givens (probably just the cold/rain, right?). None of it. Cubs drop the opener. And that’s all she wrote.