It was a good top of the 7th… On this Friday night in Pittsburgh, it was the bottom of the 7th that did the Cubs in. After taking the lead in the top of the inning, the bottom proved to be disastrous; seventh was definitely not heaven.
It’s been a microcosm of the Cubs recent slump. After falling behind 3-0 with our ace on the mound, the Cubs battled back to eventually take the lead in the 7th. But like the recent close games, it just ended up being a clank… kind of like that Seabrook shot off the post that rolled across the goal line. It looked good, and got us so close to our goal… another win, but close don’t win games.
The bottom of the 7th started with a walk. This has been Jake’s downfall lately. Not going to check the stats now, but his walk numbers are up dramatically this year. He’s been struggling to get control of his great stuff lately. His velocity is not down, his pitches still have movement… he just hasn’t been able to place them. That resulted in a Sean Rodriguez (really?), yes Sean Rodriguez 2 run home run earlier in the game. It ended up with a walk starting this fateful 7th.
Next up was the 2nd Pirates rookie to bat that inning. Jake started him with a breaking ball and he promptly lined it into right. First pitch he saw in the majors. Remember our guy hitting his first pitch into the stands a few weeks ago… seems like an eternity ago. Jaso was up next for the Bucs, and when Jake had him with 2 strikes, he tried to finish him the same way he did in the first… with a fastball on the outside corner. Jaso was thinking the same thing, went the opposite way, and the Pirates tied the game. It had only just begun.
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Next in the game was CJ Edwards to face the Pirates most famous player Andrew McCutcheon. After blowing one past him, and not getting a check swing call, Andrew lined one right through the box. 6-4. After that one, CJ induced 2 ground balls that should have resulted in double plays. The first one was not charged by Russell, and was beat at first by a step. The second one was a Zobrist throw not handled properly by Addison, and the Pirates pushed another run across. 7-4. Oh yeah, and they added another run in the 8th on a wild pitch.
It was as ugly as it gets. All I was looking for was one win in Pittsburgh, but after tonight, the Cubs look like they’re ready to pack it in for the first half. Regardless of the result the next 2 games, the Cubs will finish with an outstanding first half and a nice lead in the division. Why don’t I feel good about that? The Cubs who looked unbeatable and destined for greatness now look very mortal.
Let me try to make myself feel better. It’s better to see this type of slump in July vs September and/or October. The Cubs still hold a big division lead. The Cubs still have one of the best records in baseball. Yeah, I’ve told myself all of this before. My buddy said his ulcers have been acting up; I’m not aware of any myself, but it feels like I’m about to get some. Back at it tomorrow…
MK
Cubs lose the 1st two vs pit. Time to win 2day to head into the break on a positive note. Hendricks needs to be the stopper today since our aces could not be…arrieta and lester need to get their stuff together! Either way, win or lose, the Cubs will have had a great first half and will be the nl central leaders. Yes, it looked like more after their start, but you cant win a world series in the regular season. Win today, win the all star game, and get ready for a fun second half of baseball culminating in the ultimate goal!
GO CUBS GO!!!