Alec Mills continued to be the Cubs’ best starting pitcher yesterday (I’m not mad at Kyle Hendricks, but we have to be honest about Kyle Hendricks), throwing eight and a third scoreless innings against one of the best lineups in baseball. He only struck out three, but he only walked two, and just five balls were hit 100 mph or harder, with only one of those struck in such a way as to have an xBA above .500. Wizardly stuff from Mills, who now has a 3.95 FIP and a 4.35 xERA as he approaches the 100 innings mark here in a few weeks.
Elsewhere…
- Patrick Wisdom is within one fWAR of Jonathan India now as he tries to get to the top of some Rookie of the Year ballots, with a 126 wRC+ over 363 PA’s. That’s a lot of PA’s!
- Speaking of good wRC+’s over a lot of PA’s, Rafael Ortega is now at 125 over 211 trips to the plate. Big WPA on that grand slam, too.
- Frank Schwindel went 0-for-5, but he did smoke a groundout at least.
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Draft Watch:
The Nationals lost, but the Twins won, so the Cubs are at seventh in line today.
The Diaspora:
Kyle Schwarber went 3-for-5 with a home run yesterday. Anthony Rizzo has been slightly below league-average since joining the Yankees. Kris Bryant was off yesterday but got a good MRI on his side after leaving Friday’s game. Andrew Chafin threw a good inning for Oakland.
Around the Division:
The Reds missed an opportunity, losing to the Marlins as the Brewers and Padres both lost. The Cardinals did not miss that opportunity, and are now just three and a half behind the Reds, rapidly closing in on the Padres for second in that race. Mike Moustakas left the Reds game with hip tightness, which is concerning. The Pirates finally did release Gregory Polanco—what a saga that was—and the Cardinals put Andrew Miller on the IL with a foot blister.
Up Next:
The rubber match!
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Whom:
Cubs vs. Chicago (AL)
When:
1:10 PM Chicago Time
Where:
The South Side
Weather:
Good chance of rain in the late innings, so might be shortened by that. Wind blowing towards the left field foul pole at about fifteen miles per hour.
Starting Pitchers:
Kyle Hendricks vs. Dylan Cease
The Opponent:
Cease was part of the Quintana trade, yes, we must remind ourselves of that, and oh boy we must also remind ourselves he’s been worth 3.3 fWAR this year, which oh thank God it isn’t better than the entire Cubs rotation but it’s close! One win away!
The Numbers:
The Cubs are +220 underdogs, with the White Sox at -250 for an implied Cubs win probability of about 30%. The over/under’s at nine and favors the under.
Cubs News:
David Bote is indeed on the IL, and after DFA-ing (D-ing FA) Jake Jewell and Ryan Meisinger, Alfonso Rivas and Scott Effross have been called up to fill the active roster. Rivas is a 35+ FV first baseman who does crack the top 50 in the Cubs system and has raked in the minors despite being undersized. He’s only 24, and he’s Rule 5 eligible, so it’s time to see what he’s got. Effross isn’t much of a prospect, but not every reliever is. He played at Indiana with Kyle Schwarber. Remember Kyle Schwarber? He’s one of the best hitters in baseball!
Cubs Thoughts:
As I parentheticaled at the beginning, Kyle Hendricks is having a bad year. Would be really nice to see a gem from him today, like we saw on Monday (looking at the three true outcomes, guys, those are the things to watch).
