Cubs even NLDS with Game 2 win
Saturday evening, the Cubs tied their best-of-five NLDS matchup with Cardinals at one game apiece. They won Game 2 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis (CHC 6, STL 3). The series now shifts to Wrigley Field in Chicago. Sunday is a travel day and Game 3 is Monday.
Here are nine things to know about Chicago’s Game 2 win.
1. First-inning runs have ruled the postseason.
Coming into Saturday, a first inning run(s) had been scored in five of eight postseason games. The Cardinals made it six of nine with Matt Carpenter‘s leadoff home run in the first inning of Game 2. Cubs righty Kyle Hendricks didn’t even make that bad of a pitch. It was a sinker on the outer half …
… Carpenter smacked out to dead center. He hit 28 home runs during the regular season after hitting 25 home runs total during his first four seasons from 2011-14. Once again, a first-inning run was scored in the postseason.
2. The five-run second started when a double play wasn’t turned.
The Cubs responded in a big way right away after Carpenter’s home run with a five-run second inning that featured a some small ball (two squeeze bunts) and some long ball (Jorge Soler two-run homer). Here’s the play-by-play:
The five-run rally started with a double play that was not turned. Starlin Castro opened the inning with a single to center, but Austin Jackson followed with a chopper to shortstop. Jhonny Peralta threw to second for the first out, but Kolten Wong‘s relay slipped out of his hand and sailed into the dugout.
At first I assumed Wong threw the ball away because of the take-out slide, but replays showed he made the pivot well before Castro slid into the bag. The ball simply slipped out of his hand. It happens. (Also, Yadier Molina did not back up first base, allowing the ball to skip into the dugout. Molina ackowledged the mistake when he tapped his chest protector to say “my bad.”)
Had the double play been turned, the Cubs would have had the bases empty with no outs. Instead they had a runner at first with one out, and things spiraled out of control from there. All five runs in the second inning were unearned thanks to the errors by Wong and Garcia.
3. The squeeze bunts were out of character for the Cubs.
According to the Baseball Reference Play Index, the Cubs had only two RBI bunts during the regular season. Jonathan Herrera did it against the Mets in July, and Castro did it against the Pirates in September. So, naturally, they did it with back-to-back batters in that second inning. First it was Hendricks, then it was Addison Russell. The Cubbies scored their first three runs in that second inning with only one ball leaving the infield. That was Castro’s leadoff single, and he was erased on the bases by that double play that wasn’t completed.
4. Despite lack of history, Garcia was no mystery to Cubs.
Cardinals left-hander Jaime Garcia has spent parts of seven seasons in the big leagues, but due to injuries, he made only 56 starts from 2012-15. He not only did not face the division-rival Cubs during the regular season, he hadn’t faced them at all since April 2012. Only three players in Chicago’s starting lineup had faced Garcia prior to Game 2: Castro, Dexter Fowler and Miguel Montero.
Despite that lack of experience, the Cubs had no trouble with Garcia in Game 2. Garcia faced 12 batters and seven reached base. There were some soft hits in there, plus a few errors, but Soler doubled and homered. Garcia threw seven pitches in two-strike counts. Here are the results:
- Foul ball
- Double
- Foul ball
- Called strike three
- Swinging strike three
- Ground ball
- Foul ball
- Home run
More extra-base hits than swings and misses in two-strike counts is pretty bad. Chicago’s hitters didn’t have much history against Garcia coming into Game 2, but it really didn’t matter. He struggled to put hitters away in two-strike counts and the Cubs made him pay. Much of that five-run mess could have been avoided with better defense, though from the looks of things, it was only a matter of time until the Cubs got to Garcia.
5. Hendricks had a nasty changeup working.
Following the Carpenter home run, Hendricks retired 14 of the next 15 batters he faced before Wong and pinch-hitter Randal Grichuk smacked back-to-back home runs with two outs in the fifth. The two homers ended Hendricks’ afternoon. He allowed three runs (all solo homers) on four hits in 4 2/3 innings.
Hendricks also struck out seven thanks to 13 swings and misses out of 66 total pitches, or 19.7 percent. That’s an extraordinary rate. Hendricks got most of those empty swings with his changeup. Here’s the PitchFX data from Brooks Baseball:
So Hendricks threw 26 changeups, the Cardinals swung at 17 of them, and they missed 10 times. That’s incredible. Hendricks gave up the three home runs and he didn’t pitch deep into the game, but wow, his changeup was dominant.
By the way, Wong tied a postseason record with that fifth-inning home run:
Kolten Wong’s past nine playoff hits have been for extra bases. That ties an MLB postseason record (M.Cabrera/J.Werth)
— Ryan Fagan (@ryanfagan) October 10, 2015
That’s pretty cool. Miguel Cabrera and Jayson Werth are strong company too.
6. The bullpen was excellent for Chicago.
Hendricks was out of the game after only 4 2/3 innings, which meant the bullpen needed to get 13 outs. Maddon doesn’t exactly have a powerhouse bullpen at his disposal, so it was going to take a big performance from someone to close out the game. That someone, as it turns out, was lefty Travis Wood. He retired seven of the eight batters he faced.
Here is the bullpen work overall:
Wood, Trevor Cahill and Hector Rondon combined to retire 13 of 15 batters faced after Wong and Grichuk hit the back-to-back home runs. One of the two baserunners was an infield single. The Cardinals didn’t have a runner advance as far as second base after the fifth inning. The Cubs bullpen was lights out.
7. The Cardinals used their Game 4 starter out of the bullpen.
The second inning was Garcia’s final inning due to a stomach bug, the Cardinals announced. Manager Mike Matheny brought scheduled Game 4 starter Lance Lynn out of the bullpen in the third. Lynn allowed a run on a walk, a single and a strikeout in his only inning of work. He threw 24 pitches. Game 4, which we now know is necessary, will be played Monday. My guess is Saturday’s inning will not preclude him from starting Game 4.
8. Soler has not made an out this postseason.
Cubs skipper Joe Maddon went with his righty-leaning lineup against the lefty Garcia, which means Soler got the start in right field instead of Kyle Schwarber. Soler reached base four times in four plate appearances, including that two-run homer in the second. Here are his five plate appearances this postseason:
- Walk
- Double
- Home Run
- Walk
- Walk
An on-base percentage of 1.000 is pretty great, even through only five plate appearances. Soler was lifted late for defense, but he’s had an impact offensively thus far in limited time.
9. The Cubs need Bryant and Rizzo to get going.
The Cubs scored six runs and won Game 2 even though their No. 3 and 4 hitters went a combined 0 for 7 with a walk and two strikeouts. Neither Kris Bryant (0 for 11) nor Anthony Rizzo (0 for 10) have done anything this postseason, and while it has only been three games, Chicago’s not going to advance very far without those two contributing. Your best players have to be your best players in October. Right now Bryant and Rizzo aren’t giving the Cubs anything at the plate.
The Cubs won Game 2 of the NLDS in St. Louis. (USATSI)
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