Extra Innings
Happy Mother’s Day, everyone! Thank you to all the moms out there — You all are the true GOATs and MVPs and we hope you enjoy this day!
If you need a serious last minute gift, shop all the Cubs gear at Wrigleyville Sports. Your mom won’t be disappointed!
Standings
Quick Trip
The Cubs made a quick two-day trip out to Seattle, WA., at the end of April/first of May, where they swept the Mariners 6–5 and 11–0, respectively.
Cole Hamels and the offense were able to recover from sloppy play to earn the 6–5 victory the first night. The club turned around the next day and shut out the Mariners with ease in an 11–0 win to cap off the trip out West.
Cardinals Sweep
With well-rested bats and high spirits, the Cubs swept the St. Louis Cardinals in the first weekend of May, and their first series together this season. The three-game sweep began a long stretch at home for the Cubs and it was a sweet, sweet series victory for the club.
In the first game of the series on May 3, Kyle Hendricks breezed through nine shutout innings of play with just 81 pitches as the offense tacked on 4 unanswered runs. Hendricks’ outing was the first Maddux (fewer than 100 pitches in a shutout win) for the Cubs since 2009. The Cubs finished on top, 4–0.
The second game on May 4, saw an unlikely hero come to the plate: Taylor Davis. The crowed booed as the Cardinals decided to intentionally walk Kyle Schwarber in the fourth. The move ultimately loaded the bases, and who other than Taylor Davis would come to the plate and hit a grand slam off the first pitch sent his way. Javier Baez tacked on his own home run in the eighth inning, cinching the 6–5 win for Chicago.
In the 31st game of the season on May 5, the Cubs overcame four errors to beat the Cards, 13–5, in the series finale. Willson Contreras put Chicago on the board early with a solo home run out to left field. Jose Quintana recorded six innings of pitching, and the Cubs eased into victory the rest of the way. The win extended the Cubs’ winning streak to seven games.
Welcome, Fish!
That seven-game winning streak came to a halt on Monday, May 6, when the Miami Marlins came into town. Despite Anthony Rizzo recording his 200th-career home run in the first inning, the club dropped a 6–5, game to the Fish.
A cold chill and high winds welcomed the southern team on May 7, but that wouldn’t stop the Cubs from handing the Marlins a 5–2 loss after a walk-off home run by Kris Bryant…something we haven’t seen from him since 2015. Jon Lester pitched an excellent game, going six innings with no earned runs.
Game three of the series on May 8, ended much like game two. Only this time, Jason Heyward was the one with a walk-off, give the club a 3–2 victory. Hendricks was efficient, yet again and came close to another Maddux, going eight innings deep, allowing just one unearned run in 96 pitches.
The Cubs handed the Fish a final blow with a 4–1 win on May 9, taking the series 3–1. The #Bryzzo duo showed up as both Bryant and Rizzo scored homers, proving to fans everywhere that they are on the brink of a comeback. Despite Yu Darvish struggling on the mound, he still managed to record seven strikeouts in four innings of work.
Too close for comfort
On Friday, May 10, the Milwaukee Brewers came into town for the weekend and handed the Cubs a 7–0 loss, which tied the two teams for first place in the Central. Jose Quintana limited the Brewers to a solo run through the first six innings, but the Brewers managed to bust it wide open in the seventh, and would not allow the Cubs to score any runs the entire game.
The two teams battled it out for 15 innings on May 11, before Contreras won it all with a walk-off home run. It was a rather quiet afternoon as both teams hashed it out offensively and defensively. Cole Hamels proved why he was worth every penny of the $20 million extension with seven innings of work and just three hits.
A Look Ahead
The Cubs will finish off their series with Milwaukee on May 12. The Mother’s Day finale will see first pitch at 6:05 CT/7:05 ET and features a matchup between Jon Lester vs. Jhoulys Chacin.
Chicago will then have an off day on Monday in preparation for a long road stretch with a series against the Cincinnati Reds and then the Washington Nationals.
- Tue, 5/14 Chicago Cubs @ Cincinnati Reds, 6:40 p.m. ET
- Wed, 5/15 Chicago Cubs @ Cincinnati Reds, 6:40 p.m. ET
- Thur, 5/16 Chicago Cubs @ Cincinnati Reds, 6:40 p.m. ET
- Fri, 5/17 Chicago Cubs @ Washington Nationals, 7:05 p.m. ET
- Sat, 5/18 Chicago Cubs @ Washington Nationals, 7:15 p.m. ET
- Sun, 5/19 Chicago Cubs @ Washington Nationals, 7:05 p.m. ET
Jennifer Brugh is a freelance writer, content creator and social media specialist with a Masters in sports journalism. Born and raised in northern Indiana, Jennifer enjoys following the Chicago Cubs through all the ups and downs. She low-key wants to live in a van and travel South America. You can follow her on Twitter here.
