CI Recap (6/2/17) – Cubs 3, Cardinals 2: He’s The Rizz-o And Nobody Beats Him

The Cubs entered their game Friday against the Cardinals in desperate need of a win. Any kind of win would do, they couldn’t be too picky after the last road trip. As it turned out, a pair of former Cardinals would team up to snap the slide.

Dexter Fowler (who received his World Series ring before the game) greeted former teammate John Lackey with a homer to right. Just like that it was 1-0 Cardinals after the 1st inning.

Left fielder Magneuris Sierra singled up the middle to score Aledmys Diaz in the top of the 2nd to make it 2-0.

Kris Bryant finally got to starter Lance Lynn in the bottom of the 3rd when he flicked a fly ball into the basket in left-center for a solo homer.

Lackey and Lynn pitched very well the next few innings keeping the score at 2-1. The St. Louis starter finally tired in the 6th inning, walking Anthony Rizzo and Ben Zobrist.

Lefty Tyler Lyons replaced Lynn and promptly allowed an RBI double to Jason Heyward to tie the game. Joe Maddon pinch hit for Kyle Schwarber with the bases loaded later in the inning, not a big show of confidence. After a flurry of moves, Jon Jay hit into a double play off of Matt Bowman to end the threat.

Carl Edwards Jr. walked the bases loaded in the top of the 8th, but Pedro Strop came on in relief and struck out Yadier Molina to escape the jam.

Rizzo was the story in the bottom of the 8th inning. He opened the frame with a double over Sierra’s head in left, then made a great running play to advance to third on a grounder. He then tagged and scored when Heyward flew deep to center.

Wade Davis (remember him?) came on to close out the 3-2 Cubs victory. No, this is not a typo: the Chicago Cubs have won a baseball game.

Stats That Matter

• John Lackey was very good on Friday: 7 IP, 2 R, 4 H, 6 K, and 2 BB. Lackey had been victimized by the home run of late, but kept all but one in the park this game.
• Anthony Rizzo celebrated his engagement in style, with three walks and a double. Perhaps most important of all was advancing to third so he could score the winning run on Heyward’s sac fly.
• Jason Heyward may have had only one hit in four trips to the plate, but could have easily had three. I think J-Hey will take the tying and game-winning RBI’s instead.

Bottom Line

The Cubs needed to win a game. It wasn’t the prettiest victory, but the Northsiders executed late when the Cardinals didn’t. They were able to manufacture the winning run and close out the win. Hopefully this is the start of something good.

On Deck

The Cubs and Cardinals meet for game two of the series Saturday afternoon. Mike Leake and Jon Lester face off at 1:20 CT on WGN.