NEWSLETTER
First of all … what an absolutely fantastic weekend of Cubs baseball. Not only did the Cubs win a tough series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, they did so convincingly. Today may have been a pounding, but the first two games were tense and tight, with the Cubs coming out on top in two of three overall.
Moreover, the offense continued clicking, the defense showed up big over and over, and Shota Imanaga and Jordan Wicks both looked really excellent. Just good stuff all the way around.
As for today’s game, in particular, you can pick what you like the most. It’s basically a repeat of all the good stuff that’s been going on this season. Ian Happ got on base (again), extending his streak to nine. Nico Hoerner made some loud contact and had an incredible defensive play (again). And Cody Bellinger homered while the crowd chanted his name (again).
But I think my top-3 takeaways today were, in reverse order of awesomeness: (1) Michael Busch coming through with the bases loaded one day after coming up short in that same spot. (2) Daniel Palencia coming up and saving the bullpen with three quality innings, while earning himself a save. And (3) Shota Imanaga just being so freakin’ awesome.
I mean, that guy is absolutely incredible. I am so upset at the long rain delay, because Imanaga was putting on a show against one of the best offenses in baseball. He allowed just two hits in his four innings of work with another three strikeouts, bringing his total contributions on the year to 10.0 IP, 4H, 0ER, 0BB, 12Ks. He even got some outs on the ground this time around.
Whew. Again, just such a good weekend of baseball. That should hold you over until the late-start tomorrow night in San Diego (8:40pm CT).
