A Cloudy End to an Otherwise Sunny Series, Cubs Take Two of Three From Cardinals

It turned into a long afternoon for the Cubs and Cardinals. A rain delay lasted for three hours and twenty-one minutes. The fans had all sung “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” way back then too. But the rain relented and the game resumed.

Kyle Hendricks made the start over six hours before this one ended. He had the infamy of becoming the first Cubs’ pitcher in 2016 to not pitch at least six full innings. He got pulled after 5 1/3 innings in which he gave up four runs, seven hits, and two walks.

Kyle was getting hit hard a lot more than you’d prefer but he also managed to throw some pretty good pitches too. He finished with five strikeouts and, I’m not one to dwell on or defer to the uncontrollable, but there were certainly a couple pitches that could have been called his way and, if so, would’ve had made a big difference in this one.

It’s like it was yesterday

It literally felt like another day when this one restarted. Before the delay the Cubs’ bats decided to go cold again, this time against Carlos Martinez who threw seven innings, giving up three hits and one run. The Cubs could only manage one run, an Anthony Rizzo bomb over the right field wall. Meanwhile, the Cards scored four runs quickly in the first two innings on Hendricks and that was all they’d need, beating the Cubs today 5-4 (Box Score).

Delayed offense

The Cubs could only muster five hits today. Anthony Rizzo had two hits, including his solo home run which he hit at an exit velocity of 111.3 MPH, his hardest hit home run of his career, with the previous one being 110.8 MPH on September 4, 2015.

Dexter Fowler had another two hits today, adding to his incredible start. Dex got on base three times in the game and scored a run. Fowler is hands down the best offensive player on the Cubs so far this year. This feels like a team that’s going to have a few different guys fill this roll throughout the year and it’s great to see Dex there right now because, after handling his off-season challenges so gracefully, he deserves it.

Jason Heyward was also able to get things going at the plate today. He got on base twice with one hit and one walk, and he also scored a run. Only a matter of time before he starts to heat up offensively. Defensively, he’s as solid as they come.

Next up

The Cubs travel to Cinncinati tomorrow to open up a four game series against the Reds. Game time is 6:10 CDT and Jake Arrieta takes the ball for the Cubs.