The Walk Off: Cubs win 40th game after nearly blowing Lester’s gem
Welcome to The Walk Off, the nightly MLB recap from Big League Stew. Here we’ll look at the top performers of the night, show you a must-see highlight and rundown the scoreboard. First, we start with a game you need to know about.
Everyone knew the Chicago Cubs were going to be good coming into the season, but they didn’t know the Cubs might be historic. With the club’s 6-4 win against the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday, the Cubs became the fastest team to 40 wins during the regular season since the 2001 Seattle Mariners.
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Those Mariners, as you may remember, tied the major-league record, winning 116 regular season games. The Cubs now find themselves on a similar path.
Picking up win No. 40 didn’t come easy, though. Despite an exceptional start from Jon Lester, the Cubs managed to get into some trouble late in the contest.
With the Cubs leading 6-0 after eight scoreless innings by Lester, manager Joe Maddon opted to turn things over to the bullpen. Lester had only thrown 95 pitches at the time, and possibly could have come out for the start of the frame. On top of that, he had only allowed four hits, had not walked a batter and managed nine strikeouts.
With a large lead, Maddon perhaps decided to save Lester’s arm for later in the season. The move almost came back to bite him.
With Jason Grimm on the mound, the Phillies started their rally. Grimm started off the inning by giving up two straight singles. The third batter of the inning, Freddy Galvis, then proceeded to smash a three-run homer to right field, making it a 6-3 game.
At that point, Maddon turned to his lights out closer Hector Rondon. Prior to the start of the contest, Rondon had a 0.98 ERA on the year, with a ridiculous 40.9 percent strikeout rate.
Initially, it looked as though the Cubs might be in for a long night. Rondon gave up a solo home run to Tommy Joseph, the first batter he faced, to make it 6-4. After settling in and grabbing two quick outs, Rondon allowed a two-out single to Odubel Herrera.
That brought Ryan Howard to the plate as the possible tying run. On the first pitch he saw, Howard grounded out to first baseman Anthony Rizzo, ending the threat.
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The Cubs managed to win the contest 6-4, but the final inning was far more stressful than it should have been.
TOP PERFORMERS
Justin Upton: Since he signed with the Detroit Tigers in the offseason, Justin Upton has yet to live up to his lofty expectations. He gave the fans a taste of that promise during Monday’s game against the Toronto Blue Jays, though. Upton was one of the club’s standouts in the 11-0 victory, hitting a home run and knocking an RBI single. Upton finished 2-for-4 on the night, with three runs scored and three RBI.
Tyler Chatwood: For the second straight game, the Colorado Rockies received an excellent starting pitching performance. Tyler Chatwood followed up Jon Gray’s strong start Sunday with a gem of his own Monday. Chatwood allowed one run on one hit over eight spectacular innings in the 6-1 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. Chatwood walked four and struck out five during the outing. He improved to 7-4 with the win.
Carlos Beltran: New York Yankees outfielder Carlos Beltran doesn’t seem to be showing his age this season. The 39-year-old was at it again during the club’s 5-2 win over the Los Angeles Angels on Monday. Beltran came up with the big hit, crushing a three-run homer in the eighth inning to give the Yankees the lead. It was Beltran’s 14th home run of the season. He finished 2-for-4, with one run scored and three RBI.
MUST-SEE HIGHLIGHT
Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve may be known for his excellence at the plate, but he’s also pretty capable in the field. Altuve showed off his defensive skills during Monday’s 6-5 loss against the Texas Rangers.
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In the first inning, Elvis Andrus hit a flare just behind the second base bag. Altuve ranged to his right, and managed to make a diving play to steal a hit from Andrus. Altuve may have been fortunate that the ball hung in the air a little longer than your average line shot, but that’s not a play most second baseman can make. Altuve has range.
THE REST OF THE SCOREBOARD
Orioles 4, Royals 1: The Orioles rallied in the seventh inning, as both Mark Trumbo and Matt Wieters hit home runs. Manny Machado tacked on an insurance run in the eighth with a solo shot.
Rays 6, Diamondbacks 4: Desmond Jennings knocked three hits, falling a triple shy of the cycle during the victory.
Indians 3, Mariners 1: Trevor Bauer was exceptional, giving up just one run while striking out 10 batters over 7 2/3 innings.
Padres 7, Braves 2: Yangervis Solarte’s three-run shot in the third inning was all Christian Friedrich needed to pick up the win.
Mets, Pirates: PPD: This game was postponed. It will be made up as part of a double-header Tuesday.
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
