It was a good opening series on the North Side. On the top of the page, the Cubs won the set, and further down, signs were positive. Kyle Hendricks dominated. Tyler Chatwood impressed. The lineup got production from across the order, and a lot of production from a few of the more uncertain bats, like that of Ian Happ. Even Yu Darvish’s short, unpleasant outing at least didn’t feature any walks, the feature of early 2019 that so often did him in.
Now, it’s on to Cincinnati for what’s on paper a high-leverage four games. Yes, it must be mentioned that the Marlins’ coronavirus outbreak has put “high-leverage” in greater perspective. But should the season survive, these four games are big ones.
The NL Central lacks a king, but it’s got four comparable contenders, with the Reds the most recent to join the competitive tier. Having successfully renovated Sonny Gray’s game early last year to pair with Luis Castillo atop the rotation, Trevor Bauer was brought on board at the Trade Deadline to further bolster the staff, while the offseason saw Mike Moustakas and Nicholas Castellanos acquired to buff up an improving offense.
Moustakas isn’t in the lineup tonight. Neither is Nick Senzel, Tucker Barnhart, or Matt Davidson. Davidson tested positive for COVID before Friday’s season opener, receiving the results after the game had been played. Barnhart has been on paternity leave. Senzel and Moustakas missed yesterday’s game after feeling sick earlier in the day.
The Cubs aren’t facing the full Cincinnati Reds, but the games are still on, and there’s still a lot to prove in the road grays. Jon Lester’s 36 years old, and the lefty is reportedly still building his arm back up to its usual form. Alec Mills has pitched well in his limited big-league opportunities but has never been part of an Opening Day rotation. The bullpen disappointed on Saturday, but it’s yet to attempt to hold a close lead. The lineup made it work against Brandon Woodruff, but Gray and Castillo will be significant tests at the back end of the set.
Again, the biggest questions here are about baseball in general, and about concerns surrounding the Reds in particular after Davidson’s positive test and the Senzel/Moustakas illnesses. But below these pieces of humanity, down in the box score and the standings, there’s baseball going on too. At least for now.
