NEWSLETTER
The Cubs love to play extra-innings games on the weekend. I know this because I distinctly recall swearing far too often in front of my kids when the Cubs fail in extra-innings this year. Like today. So that was great.
The Cubs’ bats were almost entirely stifled again today, with Taijuan Walker cruising ahead of the Mets bullpen doing the same. The pitching was good enough on the Cubs’ side to keep things tied at one heading into extra-innings.
In the 10th, the Cubs got a great performance from David Robertson to keep the Mets scoreless in the top half, and then had Nelson Velazquez as the winning run on third with nobody out (he’d stolen third like a boss). Patrick Wisdom and P.J. Higgins struck out, and then Eduardo Escobar robbed Christopher Morel of a would-be-game-winning hit to keep the Cubs from scoring in the bottom half.
That was their chance. Once it missed, you knew the Mets would score in the 11th. They did, on a sac fly, and then Edwin Diaz shut the Cubs down in the bottom of the 11th.
David Ross got himself ejected mid-game, so he didn’t have to watch.
Marcus Stroman looked as good as we’ve seen him this year, allowing just one run (just three baserunners) over 4.1 innings, striking out six. He wasn’t particularly efficient (83 pitches), and you’ll want to see him give a little more length as he gets fully healthy. For today, though, coming off the shoulder issue and beefing the pitch count back up (against a heckuva lineup), I was very pleased. The pitches looked sharp, too.
Great outings today from Rowan Wick and Brandon Hughes, too. All in a losing effort.
