Morning Toss — April 11, 2017
In a night where the world champions basked in their 2016 achievement, they gave their fans a lot more to celebrate than simply the year before.
Just… wow.
When something bizarre happens and inexplicably works out, you generally use the cliché, “just like they drew it up.” In the context of last night’s Chicago Cubs home opener at Wrigley Field, in which the players (!) raised the team’s first championship banner in 108 years, the night went exactly according to how anyone would have drawn it up.
The pregame festivities — in which Cubs legends raised assorted banners commemorating the 2016 team’s achievement and Cubs players, among the fans in the bleachers, lifted their World Series canvas — were magnificent, albeit wet, and the team walking back onto the field to AC/DC’s “It’s A Long Way to the Top” will now be forever ingrained into my brain when I hear it.
And then there was the game itself, in which the Cubs donned flossy home jersey variants with gold letters and numbers (I liked them enough to spend $275 on an authentic Schwarber… when will I get to do this again?) and Jon Lester pitched against their 2016 NLCS opponent, the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The energy at Wrigley was electric — and no, I wasn’t there, but even just watching it on TV felt like a playoff atmosphere. The Cubs gave everyone at the ballpark something to celebrate early, with a Kris Bryant double driving Kyle Schwarber home in the third and an odd force out play in the fourth, bringing Addison Russell across the plate. The Cubs led 2–0.
But then the Dodgers came back to disrupt the party, with Corey Seager doubling in the sixth to drive in Joc Peterson and cut the deficit in half.
The turning point on this night came in the top of the seventh, with Carl Edwards Jr. on the mound. He walked Yasiel Puig, Adrian Gonzalez reached on catcher interference and then walked Yasmani Grandal to load the bases for Joc Pederson. Joe Maddon went to Justin Grimm, who fell into a 3–0 count to Pederson, on the verge of walking in the tying run.
Grimm prevailed, forcing a fly out to Ben Zobrist in right field for the first out of the inning. Dave Roberts sent Andrew Toles to pinch hit, and as if Grimm stepped into a time machine to August 2015 when his excellence peaked, he induced a double play to end the threat, completely unscathed.
The Dodgers would eventually tie the game in the top of the eighth against Koji Uehara, forcing a bottom of the ninth showdown between the heart of the Cubs’ order and Sergio Romo. Jon Jay singled to start the inning, and Tommy La Stella advanced him to second on a groundout. With the winning run in scoring position, Roberts went to his shutdown closer Kenley Jansen.
Jansen struck out Zobrist for the second out, but Jay stole third to set the stage for Anthony Rizzo. On an inside cutter, Rizzo poked the ball down the left field line out of the reach of Andrew Toles, and on the damp grounds of Wrigley Field, in their first home game since winning the World Series, with special gold jerseys, in front of fans who stuck around in 35 degree Chicago spring weather after midnight, the Cubs celebrated a walk-off.
And sure, the rain was a burden and undoubtedly inconvenienced 40,000 people who had work Tuesday, but for the viewer — and maybe even fan in attendance — the game had a mystique a Cubs fan is unlikely to experience again. The Cubs may win another World Series, but this was the first home game after the first title. To call the result special is an understatement.
(Note: Sadly overshadowed in this hype was Wil Myers completing a cycle in Denver last night for the San Diego Padres. A notable performance for one of baseball’s most understated stars.)
Call of the Night
Today’s post is an all-Cubs post, and I realize my bias is showing hardcore right now, but I can’t emphasize enough what a special experience watching last night’s game was. It was a one-of-a-kind game.
So, Anthony Rizzo’s walk-off, and the celebration following, wins out today. We have ESPN lead baseball voice Dan Shulman on the call.
The Day Ahead — Games to Watch
Skipping the “Starting Rotation” segment today; I do have a day job, and it pulled me away from RO Baseball duties this morning. No matter!
- Cardinals @ Nationals, 7:05 PM ET. A struggling Cardinals team sends Lance Lynn to the mound against a Nationals squad looking to overcome inconsistencies of its own. These are two should-be contenders, so tonight’s game could be a compelling contest.
- Rangers @ Angels, 10:07 PM ET. The Angels have been one of the league’s great surprises, as they’re off to a 5–2 start, and they face Cole Hamels and a struggling Rangers squad.
- Diamondbacks @ Giants, 10:15 PM ET. More late baseball! The highlights are on the west coast today. Robbie Ray takes the bump for the D’Backs against Jeff Samardzija and a Giants team that hasn’t gotten going just yet. Arizona can go an NL-best 7–2 with a win tonight.
There’s already one game in action — the 5–1 Minnesota Twins host the 4–2 Detroit Tigers in an early battle for AL Central supremacy. Let’s hope for more excitement in the many games in play today.
