A Tip of the Recap – 8/7 (Cubs 3, A’s 1)
Cubs Record: 69-41 (1st in NL Central, 11.5 games)
W: Kyle Hendricks (11-7, 2.17 ERA)
L: Sean Manaea (3-7, 4.58 ERA)
S: Aroldis Chapman (23)
The Good
Kyle Hendricks continues to be lights-out, which is fitting because his fastball probably couldn’t generate enough friction to strike a match. Speed might kill, but when Hendricks is on the mound it’s death by a thousand cuts. The A’s were only able to muster one run, a solo shot by Marcus Semien in the bottom of the 8th, on three hits against the soft-tossing assassin on Sunday afternoon.
Jorge Soler continues to make me look like a dummy for suggesting that he was trending down and wouldn’t be able to contribute much right away in his return from the DL. A three-run homer Friday night and a 2-for-4 Sunday with yet another homer shut me up but good.
Kris Bryant is nice and had a nice day, going 2-for-3 with a pair of nice walks and a nice solo shot to bring his RBI total to 69. Nice.
The Bad
Kris Bryant got picked off of first base and was then caught stealing in the 1st and Aroldis Chapman allowed a hit to Stephen on a 104 mph fastball. That’s about it.
The Ugly
While watching the end of the game, I leaned forward to sneeze and popped the button of my Target-bought Mossimo cargo shorts. I have achieved peak dadbod and it’s not pretty. There was really nothing ugly from the game, at least not from my vantage point.
Coming attractions
Monday is a travel day for the Cubs, who swept the odd three-game West Coast trip and now return home for two games against a team from California. Totally makes sense. The Angels will attempt to stop the Cubs’ seven-game win streak, which, good luck.
