The Rundown: Báez & Quintana Lead Cubs, Russell Nears Return, Maddon Brand Expanding, Arrieta Calls Out Phillies Teammates

Photo of Michael Canter Michael CanterApril 24, 2019

It’s fun to watch the regional, national, or opposing team broadcasts of Cubs games because announcers seem so genuinely amazed by Javier Báez. The thing is, to those of us who get to see him play regularly, Báez never ceases to astound us, either.

As much fun as that kind of stuff is, I was more impressed with José Quintana last night. The lefty is really on a roll and had his third consecutive outstanding start in last night’s 7-2 win over the Dodgers. On a crisp April night that felt a lot more like October, Quintana was aces when anything less may have been insufficient. Sometimes a fistful of cards is just as strong as a fistful of money, and Q was dealing last night. When Quintana struck out Max Muncy with two on in the bottom of the 7th it had all the feels of an NLCS game.

In his last three outings, all which have gone seven innings, Quintana has 25 strikeouts and has allowed two runs. He’s walked just three opposing batters during this streak. You’ll never confuse the lefty starter with Jacob deGrom, but he’s certainly played the part of staff ace over his last 21 innings, lowering his ERA from 10.29 to 3.21. It has been his best stretch since joining the Cubs in 2017.

Last night’s win pushed the Cubs over .500 for the first time since Opening Day. Certainly Quintana is a big reason why. In the 10 games since he shut out the Pirates 2-0 on April 11, the starting rotation has posted an ERA of 1.39. Great pitching can be infectious, and winning almost always follows suit.

Cubs News & Notes

How About That!

Mets starter Zack Wheeler became the first member of the 100/100 club for 2019. That means he has thrown a pitch 100 mph or better while hitting a home run with an exit velocity of at least 100 mph. It was Wheeler’s first career tater.

Things aren’t always sunny in Philadelphia, especially when your staff ace calls out the team’s best position player for getting tossed for arguing balls and strikes, and follows that by saying the entire team was flat.

Umpire Angel Hernandez had a rough night behind the plate in Houston.

Indians third baseman José Ramírez has been a terrible disappointment to date.

The Cardinals said Tuesday that injured starter Carlos Martínez will make his return as a reliever. That’s less the team’s preference and more a result of it being all he can handle right now.

Jeff Samardzija has quietly opened the season with a 3.00 ERA in five starts, but the velocity he lost last season hasn’t come back and he’s still down about 2.5 miles per hour from where he was a couple of years ago. The Blue Jays managed to foul off 24 Samardzija pitches — a staggering number — and he recorded just six swinging strikes in 85 pitches.

Tuesday’s Three Stars

  1. Zack Wheeler – The Mets starter was a one-man wrecking crew, striking out 11 over seven scoreless innings and also hitting a home run with three RBI during a win over Philadelphia. At one point he struck out seven consecutive Phillies.
  2. Luke Voit – The Yankees first baseman was 2-for-4 with two home runs, two RBI, and three runs scored in New York’s 7-5 win over the Angels. Voit has reached base in 34 straight games and has 20 home runs in 55 games dating back to Aug. 24, which leads the American League.
  3. José Quintana – Big Q held the Dodgers to two runs on four hits in seven innings. The left-hander walked two and struck out seven, pushing his streak to 16 scoreless innings over two-plus starts before he allowed a run in the 3rd.

Extra Innings

Maddon is adding craft beer to his ever-growing brand, officially introducing his new lager. According to its marketing material, Joe Maddon’s Try Not to Suck (that’s really the full name of the beer), released earlier this month, “is a true-to-style helles lager with a soft body rife with grain character, light sweetness and mild bitterness in the finish. It’s an easy-drinking backyard barbecue beer.”

Maddon said he expects Try Not to Suck to be available in Chicago through the baseball season and likely beyond as part of a growing portfolio of products benefiting Respect 90.

I’ll wait until Evan tells me it’s worth trying before I make the commitment to imbibe. Also, in my mind’s eye, I see an unopened can of the brew sitting somewhere on a top shelf in our editor’s personal Cubs shrine.

https://twitter.com/hopnotes/status/1120806150176481280

They Said It

  • “I know I’ve been throwing the ball really well the last [three] starts. I trust my stuff and the adjustments I’m making. It’s in my mind to get ahead [in the count]. That’s the best chance we have to get the outs.” – José Quintana
  • “Never had this play before. It’s just things that come to me, reaction, I don’t know.” – Javier Báez
  • “With the way the microbreweries are these days and how popular different brews are today, I thought it would be a natural fit. And from the beer drinker and fan’s perspective, everyone likes new and different beers to try out.” – Joe Maddon

Wednesday Walk Up Song

Groovy Train by The Farm. The Cubs continue to roll.

Photo of Michael Canter Michael CanterApril 24, 2019
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