The Rundown: Cubs with the Walk-Off Win Against Vaunted KC Bullpen, Baez Stays Hot for Iowa

Photo of Bryan O'Donnell Bryan O'DonnellJune 1, 2015

Not to make too big of a deal about a victory in May, but yesterday’s 2-1 walk-off win against the Royals was huge.

Runs and hits were tough to come by on a cold, dreary day with the wind blowing in at Wrigley Field. So when the Royals took a 1-0 lead after two were out and no one on in the 6th, it wasn’t looking good. Especially with Royals starter Yordano Ventura dealing and their elite bullpen waiting in the wings.

But then in the 7th with Ventura still in the game, Miguel Montero worked a one-out walk and advanced on a wild pitch. Jorge Soler struck out, putting Chris Coghlan at the plate with two away.

Coghlan had looked like the best Cubs hitter of the day (he was 2-for-2 at that point), so with first base open, I assumed the Royals would pitch around him. Instead, Ventura grooved one right down the middle and Coghlan knocked in the tying run.

But now the question was whether the Cubs bullpen would be able to keep up with KC’s. On Friday, it couldn’t. But it did on Sunday.

After wasting an opportunity in the bottom of the 9th, in which Anthony Rizzo tripled with one out, the Cubs led off the 11th with walks from Dexter Fowler and Kris Bryant (Bryant’s being one of those 0-2 to 4-2 walks). Fowler was then thrown out at the plate after a base hit by Rizzo, but David Ross ended the game with a bloop single to left.

It was a great win against a really good team. The Cubs ended up going 2-3 this week against the Nationals and Royals. I guess it could have been a lot worse.

Hopefully they can make some hay on the upcoming East Coast trip. Although things don’t exactly get much easier. After heading to Miami, the Cubs have to take on the Nationals again and the come home to face the Tigers.

Throwin’ it back

Yesterday was a throwback day for the Cubs and Royals, with the teams wearing Chicago Whales and Kansas City Federal League jerseys.

And in the you-can’t-make-this-stuff-up department:

Pretty neat. Here’s the box score of the game from 1915. My favorite detail is that both starters pitched complete games.

Other notes

* Javier Baez went 3-for-5 with a double and two RBIs and no strikeouts last night. The Iowa Cubs game was shown on Comcast Sports Net, and it was nice to see Baez in live action. His new stance (as Todd Johnson wrote about a couple weeks ago) was evident, and there definitely appeared to be less waggling of the bat before the pitch. The adjustments seem to be having an effect, although it’s hard to tell for sure from catching just a few at-bats.

* The Cubs dressed up in sport coats and shorts for the trip to Miami:

 

Photo of Bryan O'Donnell Bryan O'DonnellJune 1, 2015
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