CI Recap (4/30/17) – Cubs 2, Red Sox 6: Bullpen Falls Short as Cubs Drop Series at Fenway

If there was one pitch that Kyle Hendricks wanted back, it was the one blasted over the Green Monster in the bottom of the first inning by Hanley Ramirez. Willson Contreras set up outside, but the ball floated to the middle of the strike zone and Ramirez made it look like a batting practice pitch. Kyle Hendricks ended up pitching six quality innings of two-run, three-hit ball.

The Cubs cut the Red Sox two run lead in half when Kris Bryant pounded a ball into the left center field stands, over the green monster, for his second home run in the series.

In the top of the seventh inning, after Jon Jay and Kyle Schwarber both walked, with Kris Bryant at the plate, Red Sox pitcher Joe Kelly threw a wild pitch that bounced far away from the catcher and allowed Jon Jay to score all the way from second base on a close play at the plate. The play was originally called out but later reversed. That tied the score at two runs a-piece.

In the bottom of the eighth inning Koji Uehara came into the game and did not record a single out. The Red Sox hit three consecutive singles to load the bases before Joe Maddon yanked Koji from the game. In came Pedro Strop.

Strop struck out Mookie Betts swinging. Next up was Mitch Moreland who grounded out to first, which allowed a run to score. Dustin Pedroia then grounded to Addison Russell who proceeded to toss the ball past Anthony Rizzo allowing two more runs to score.

Cubs lose this one — a game they could’ve easily won — by the score of 6-2 (box score).

Stats That Matter

• Kyle Schwarber went 0-for-3 and is hitting .204 on the year.
• Remember that time the Cubs didn’t allow a run in the first three innings? That was last Tuesday against the Pirates — a game they won — and since then they’ve dug themselves into a hole in every single game. The starting pitchers will come around but it’s going to continue to sting until they do.

The Bottom Line

While it’s not exactly the complete domination we were all hoping for, the Cubs are playing good ball so far this season, in spite of the fact that several starters have yet to break out. They’ll look to get things back on track as they head to Wrigley Field over the next seven games.

On Deck

The Cubs are back home after a 5-4 record on the latest road trip. Brett Anderson will take the bump for the Cubs and Vince Velazquez is slated to start for the Philadelphia Phillies. First pitch is at 7:05 CST on Monday evening.