Giants 4, Cubs 3: Not a San Francisco deal with
Well, at least they just barely made it in the end.
Yes, I’m fighting for positive results from the Cubs’ third straight loss, 4-3 to the Giants, and that’s all I have.
A furious ninth inning rally backed by some sketchy Giants defenses stayed short after the Giants pitchers 18 just retired Cubs batter.
The game started well again. Kohl Stewart looked pretty good for two innings and with Anthony Rizzo at the base in the second inning, Patrick Wisdom gave the Cubs a 2-0 lead [VIDEO].
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Nice to grab a pen too – not sure who that is. Does anyone recognize the guy who caught the ball?
That was Wisdom’s fifth home run of the season – in 30 at-bats. He had four for the Cardinals in 2018, so that’s a career high in just 12 games played (and he made a lone appearance in four of those 12 games). When all the injured boys return, they’ll have to find a role for him.
And here is an eclectic list of cubs:
Best SLG% in the first 14 games of the Cubs career since 1901 (at least 20 AB):
.906: Patrick Wisdom (’20 -21)
.854: Donnie Murphy (2013)
.806: Glenallen Hill (1993)
.800: Frank Ernaga (1957)
.800: Babe Phelps (’33 -34)
– Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) June 6, 2021
And not a list of Cubs who had stellar careers, though Glenallen Hill had its moments, scoring 59 home runs in 331 games in two separate stints with the Cubs (1993-94 and 1998-2000).
The only other Cubs hit before the ninth in Saturday’s contest was a single by Stewart, which led the third, his first major league hit. He was stranded and Javy Baez’s single in the ninth was the next Cubs hit – and those three were it for the game.
Give credit to Kevin Gausman for acting.
Meanwhile, the Giants were in the third and two more in the fourth ahead of Stewart, who battled his way to 79 total pitch scores while only posting 11 outs. The Cubs pen threw 4ning innings, allowing only two hits and three walks, but one of those walks, edited by Dan Winkler, resulted in the Giants’ fourth run. That was the decisive balance.
Cory Abbott was one of the Cubs’ replacements and he threw well on his Major League debut. He mainly threw fastballs at 93-94 mph, spent a walk and allowed a hit in two innings, but never gave up on a run.
The ninth inning in front of Submarine Giants specialist Tyler Rogers gave the Cubs their last chance. Rafael Ortega grabbed a mistake and after Kris Bryant scored in a force play, Javier Baez KB isolated in third place.
That game was scored by Bryant [VIDEO].
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I don’t think I’ve ever seen a shortstop and third baseball clash on a routine floor ball – especially two guys who have been around for as long as Brandon Crawford and Evan Longoria. Longoria was upset and had to leave the game. Hope he is fine.
Back to the action that brought the tie run to the scoring position and the lead run to first base. Willson Contreras cut the second out. I had thought that Javy might start third and try to pull a throw, and eventually Baez stole third base while Rizzo moved up to second. That got two runners into the points, but Jason Heyward hung up to finish it.
I mentioned Ortega above … he didn’t start this game. Why was he in the game?
Joc Pederson left the game tonight with a tight lower right back, per #Cubs.
– Russell Dorsey (@ Russ_Dorsey1) June 6, 2021
That apparently is also why Tommy hit Nance on fifth strike – two out and no one on the base and David Ross didn’t want to burn a pinch hitter so early as Ortega had to come into play for Pederson. That’s all the Cubs need, one more injured player, especially when Joc starts hitting. How did it happen?
Ross said Pederson pinched his back when he met Dickerson’s Homer in the third on the left wall of the field. Sounds like an everyday situation.
– Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) June 6, 2021
Here’s the piece in which that happened:
Photo by Thearon W. Henderson / Getty Images
All in all, Saturday wasn’t a good day for the Chicago Cubs. The Brewers won on Saturday so the Cubs are now in first place with Milwaukee, both teams 32-26. The Cardinals lost their Saturday game against the Reds and are 1½ games behind first place.
The Cubs hope to make Sunday better and save one game from this four-game set. Kyle Hendricks will start for the Cubs and our old nemesis Johnny Cueto will start for the Giants. Game time is 3:05 p.m. CT and TV coverage will be on Marquee Sports Network.
