A Tip of the Recap – April 20 (Cubs 3, Cards 5)
Cubs Record: 11-4 (1st Place in NL Central)
W: Carlos Martinez (3-0)
L: Kyle Hendricks (1-2)
SV: Trevor Rosenthal (4)
MVP: Carlos Martinez
The Cubs and Cardinals duked it out Wenesday in St. Louis in the final game of a three-game series. The Cubs were going for the sweep with Kyle Hendricks on the mound but it didn’t quite happen.
Hendricks gave up four runs on seven hits over 5 1/3 innings, walking two men while striking out five. One of those hits was a two-run homer by Matt Holliday in the 1st and Hendricks never really seemed to recover from that. The other two Cardinal runs were scored off of a wild pitch and a single by their starter Carlos Martinez.
The Cubs got their first run on a solo shot by Anthony Rizzo in the 4th inning. Before that dinger, Rizzo was only 1 for his last 13. The game was held up by a rain delay that lasted over three hours, after which the Cubs came out of the break swinging. They rallied for two runs in the top of the 8th to make it a 4-3 ballgame, but that was as close as they would get.
Yadier Molina gave the Cardinals an insurance run in the bottom of the 8th and the Cubs dropped game three 5-3.
The Good
Anthony Rizzo seems to be warming up. Along with his home run, Rizzo hit an RBI single to score Dexter Fowler in the 8th. Rizzo almost hit a two-run homer in the 2nd inning too, but a great leaping catch against the center field wall by Randal Grichuk robbed him. Check out the video below.
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Cardinals starter Carlos Martinez was pretty good too. He only gave up one run on three hits while striking out five and even helped his own cause with an RBI single.
The Bad
Yadier Molina. This guy has been a Cubs killer for years and Wednesday’s game was no exception. He hit a double in the 2nd and and subsequently came around to score. In the bottom of the 8th, he gave the Cardinals an insurance run that killed the Cubs momentum.
The Ugly
Nothing really happened in the game that could be qualified as ugly. However, Trevor Rosenthal coming into the game in the 9th was not pretty for the Cubs. He struck out the side on 15 pitches to notch his 4th save of the year and 100th of his career. He was throwing so hard it was like an episode of Dragonball Z!
Coming Attractions
The Cubs start a four-game series against the Reds — who they swept at Wrigley to open the home season — in Cincinnati tomorrow. Jake Arrieta, 3-0 on the young season, will be squaring off against Brandon Finnegan, the same guy the Cubs faced in their home opener. He kept the Cubs hitless until the 7th inning and was pulled after giving up a hit, after which the Reds bullpen went on to blow the game. The Cubs’ records now stands at 11-4 and they head to Cincinnati with the best record in all of baseball.
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