I am not making Yan Gomes second fiddle to the pitching staff in last night’s win, especially because his contributions DIRECTLY help the pitching staff do what it does. He’ll get his own fun treatment later.
For the first thing this morning, I just thought folks might want the highlights from last night’s win. It’s already the Cubs’ 5th shutout of the year, two weeks earlier than they got there last year. If that doesn’t sound all that impressive, that’s probably because the Cubs had a ton of early-season shutouts last year! In 2021, the Cubs didn’t log their 5th shutout until the end of June.
Anyway, it was a great performance from Justin Steele and the bullpen, with an assist from the Padres not getting that timely hit. Then a little insurance in the 8th on top of the brilliant night from Yan Gomes, and you have the Cubs winning the opener of the Padres series: