Chicago Cubs Fail to Plunder Pirates in Pittsburgh
The Chicago Cubs kicked off their first road trip of the 2021 season this weekend, and they did so against the same team they started their first homestand against in the Pittsburgh Pirates. The two teams played their second three-game set of the young season, and things did not look great for the north siders as they dropped two of the three contests against the unheralded division foe.
Here is a quick recap on what happened in this series:
Game 1: Jake Keeps the Bucs at Bay
Jake Arrieta got his second straight start against the Pirates in Thursday’s series opener, and he did just fine. He was not as sharp as he was the first time around — which is to be expected when a pitcher faces the same team two outings in a row — but he did a good job of limiting the damage and keeping himself and the Cubs in position to win the game.
He did end up allowing more baserunners this time than in his first start (10 total, 7 H, 3 BB) and did give up one more run (2 ER), but whenever he found himself in a jam he was able to maneuver out of it before things got out of hand. With this performance Arrieta posted his second straight quality start — a start in which the pitcher throws at least 6 IP and allows no more than 3 ER — and he has accounted for half of the team’s quality starts through the first nine games.
The offense woke up a bit as the Cubs recorded a double-digit hit game for the first time in the new season, as they finished this game with 11 total hits and four players logging a two-hit game. Three of those multi-hit game batters were responsible for driving in all four of the Cubs runs in this game as Kris Bryant (1), Anthony Rizzo (1), and Javier Baez (2) all recorded RBIs, and all of them came on the strength of the long ball.
Bryant got the scoring started right away with a leadoff homer in the top of the first inning, his second already this year. The Pirates then took the lead in the bottom of the fourth inning, but in the top of the sixth Baez launched a two-run shot to flip the script from a one run deficit to a one run lead. Rizzo then put the final nail in the coffin with a solo HR in the top of the eighth to finish off the scoring for this contest.
The Cubs bullpen was a bit Jekyll-and-Hyde-ish in this game. Veteran lefty Rex Brothers was the first one out of the pen and went four up, four down as struck out three batters and got through the first out of the eighth inning. Dan Winkler was brought on to replace Brothers, but he failed to record an out as he walked all three batters he faced and threw just three strikes in the fifteen total pitches he threw.
Closer Craig Kimbrel was brought on to put out the fire Winkler started, and he was able to get the job done as he retired all five batters he faced from the bottom of the eighth through the end of the contest. Not only was this the first five-out save in the regular season of Kimbrel’s career (he has done it once in the postseason), but this was also his 350th career save moving him into 12th place on MLB’s all-time saves leaderboard.
Game 2: Davies Implodes
Early on in the second game on Saturday, it looked like things would go fairly well for the Cubs coming off of their strong team effort victory in Thursday’s series opener. Ian Happ drew a walk to lead off the game before being driven home by Kris Bryant on a double into the left-center field gap, and that gave Chicago an early 1–0 lead. Starting pitcher Zach Davies then posted a 1–2–3 bottom half of the first frame and, even though the didn’t score, a single by Javier Baez in the top of the second was an encouraging sign.
That’s as encouraging as it got for the Cubs, as Davies went on to allow 7 ER to the Pirates in the bottom of the second inning. Whatever momentum or settling on the mound he had gathered in the bottom of the first had completely vanished by the time he stepped on the mound again in the second, and he himself allowed all of those runs to score as Alec Mills (who came on in relief) left his one inherited runner stranded by the end of the frame.
I personally don’t believe in broadcaster jinxes, though I do admit it is ironic to see a broadcaster or analyst get contradicted immediately after making an observation or stat-based prediction. Entering Saturday’s start Davies had the longest active streak of starts in which he allowed no more than three earned runs. Longer than Jacob deGrom, Gerrit Cole, Clayton Kershaw — anyone. It was brought up twice from what I saw: once in the Cubs pregame show, and again to start of the bottom of the second inning. What timing.
That’s about all from this one. The Pirates added one more run on a solo shot by Phillip Evans, and the Cubs were able to scrape one last run across in the top of the eighth as Willson Contreras scored on a Joc Pederson RBI single which brought the game to its 8–2 final score.
In a bit of positive news for the Cubs from this one, Bryant raised his OPS to 1.005 at that point as he has gotten off to a solid start to the 2021 season. And in a combined 6 1/3 IP the Cubs bullpen allowed only eight baserunners and just one run (that solo HR to Evans), though the game was long decided before any of them came to the mound.
Game 3: Momentum is a Fickle Thing
Sunday saw a more stressful rubber match than one might expect in early April, as the Cubs were trying to come back from being badly beaten by a team they were expected to take care of in the early going. They were able to put the first run of the game on the board on the strength of a Javier Baez homerun in the top of the second inning, but once again the early lead was not enough for them.
Trevor Williams got his first start against his former team in this game, and he had no where near the same results that he posted in his last outing. This time around he allowed 10 H, 5 ER, and couldn’t even make it out of the fourth inning. The second frame was his biggest blip as he allowed hits to five of the first six batters of the inning (including hits to each of the first four).
In the top of the third inning the Cubs had something cooking offensively. After Williams got out to start the frame, they immediately got two runners on base in a three pitch span with a single by Ian Happ and Willson Contreras getting hit by a pitch. The following hitter was Anthony Rizzo, and he hit a ground ball to first baseman Colin Moran.
As Contreras went down the basepath he slid just to the outfield side second base as the shortstop Kevin Newman was coming over to turn the double play. Though no contact between Contreras and Newman was made, Newman made a rushed throw to first and threw the ball away and that allowed Happ to score.
Once the play was over the Pirates challenged that Contreras performed an illegal slide at second base. After review the call was overturned saying that Contreras did not perform a “bona fide slide” although it could be argued that he was still within reach of the bag, but the changed ruling caused both he and Rizzo to be ruled out and end the inning there with no run scoring on the play.
After that run came off the board, the Cubs were unable to get anything together the rest of the game offensively. The last two games were just a poor showing overall, but it is still early so there is plenty of time for them to right the ship.
The Cubs will move their way to Milwaukee as they prepare for a three-game series against the Brewers. Adbert Alzolay will get a chance to redeem himself in the series opener as he goes up against the same team for his second start — a common theme this year — followed by a rematch between Kyle Hendricks and Brandon Woodruff in the second game.
Stay tuned to Wrigley Rapport here and on social media for future news and notes as we kick off the 2021 season. Go Cubs Go!
