Game 75 Recap: Cubs 1, Mets 0

Quick Work

Box Score Play Log Game Graphs

W - Hendricks (3-4),  MLB's average length of game, magic.

L - Niese (3-8), that Home Run Big Apple thingy, losing your game summary right before publishing.

S - Motte (3)

Things to Take from This Game

1.  Hendricks with a good outing.

Kyle Hendricks pitched 6 efficient, scoreless innings, giving up just one walk and three hits. He struck out six with lots of movement - if not always command - on all of his pitches. Other than a one-out double that was quickly pitched around, he wasn't in trouble at all. The defense also was flawless, save a bad route and awkward catch by Fowler.

2. The offense continues to struggle.

There isn't much to say about the offensive performance.  Castro walked twice.  Bryant had a hit and a walk. The scoring came from a no-doubt double by Szczur that scored Bryant. We loaded the bases, once, so there was that...

3. The bullpen delivered.

Rondon, Strop, and Motte each had convincing scoreless innings to preserve a 1-0 lead.

The 2 hour and 22 minute, happy details,  belowGame Recap

 Inning 1 - Top

• Game begins with a called strike to Fowler, and strike 3 comes on a 2-2 count as Fowler swings well over and ahead of what J.D. called a cut fastball and I would have guessed was a breaking pitch.
• Rizzo taps a swinging bunt down the third base line, which Plawecki handles and gets Rizzo at first.  Throw took Duda into foul territory, but he catches the bag with his back foot.
• Bryant gets one off the end of the bat a bit, flying out to straight-away left.

Inning 1 - Bottom

• Hendricks starts his game off with a strike to Granderson.
• A cutter  runs from Granderson back to the inside corner for a very nice called strike 3.
• and now Tejada K's swinging on some off speed pitch with funky movement dancing around the outside corner.  Good movement so far on Hendricks' pitches, as J.D. again doesn't quite know what the heck to call that pitch.
• Duda lines one over the shift into right; Hendricks had falled behind 3-0.
• Murphy hits one on the screws with some funny spin out to Fowler, but he's well positioned for the catch, end of inning.

 Inning 2 - Top

• Castro works a 3-1 count and takes a fastball low and in for a leadoff walk.
• Denorfia squibs another swinging bunt, this one much further up the 3B line than Rizzo's, and Niese watches it slowly roll foul.  Just as I am thinking it, Len references Lenny Randall, the guy who tried to blow a bunt foul.  J.D. suggests pulling out a broom, like in curling.
• A changeup, Denorfia swings over and out in front of it for the strikeout.
• Szczur lines one in the 5.5 hole for a single. Castro to second.
• Ross shows some opposite field pop, driving one to the warning track in right.  Both runners advance.
• Hendricks, called strike 3.  People who don't like the pitcher batting 8th all yell "I told you so!" at the screen.  The rest of us ~shrug~

 Inning 2 - Bottom

• Cuddyer hits a chopper to Bryant that he fields on a tough in-between hop, makes the out.
• Flores with a lazy fly to Denorfia
• Plawecki puts a nice swing on one, lining it the other way into right for a single.
• Niese rolls one over to Bryant, end of inning.

Inning 3 - Top

• Hendricks taps one back to Niese who has to stretch and slip for it, while Hendricks slips getting out of the box. Easy out.
• I had only been half-hearing it, but evidently the Joe Maddon hijinks for slump-busting was a magic show before batting practice.  Who doesn't like magic?
• Fowler lines one just out of the reach of a leaping Flores, who at least gets a glove on it.
• Rizzo pops foul to Murphy down the left field line.
• Bryant pulls a single through the 5.5 hole, Fowler to second.
• 3-0 to Castro, walks on four pitches.  Two walks in two ABs for Castro, as Niese pitched around him.  Good work, Castro.
• Denorfia pops to shallow center, Granderson has it.  We've stranded 5 in two innings.

Inning 3 - Bottom

• Lagares leading off the inning, batting ninth. Rolls one off the end of the bat to Russell for an easy out.  Hendricks continues to have real nice movement, though perhaps not great command of it tonight.
• Granderson bounces one to Rizzo, unassisted.
• Tejada swings and foul tips a  high fastball for strike 3.

Inning 4 - Top

• Szczur flies to Granderson in right. Len and J.D. keep noting the number of planes buzzing the stadium tonight, more than normal.
• Ross with a slow bouncer down the third base line, Murphy charges and gets the hard-running Ross by a step.
• Hendricks lines to a well-positioned Granderson in right.

Inning 4 - Bottom

• Duda slices one out to Denorfia who makes a nice adjustment on it to track it down.
• Murphy smokes one to very deep just-left-of-center. Cruises in to second, may have been able to get third?
• After a quick conference with David Ross, Hendricks catches the low inside corner with a fastball for strike three looking.
• Flores pops foul to Rizzo, just behind first.  Nice pitch-around from the double.

Inning 5 - Top

• Russell lines sharply to Murphy's left, at third.  Makes a very nice diving stop and throws Russell out.
• Fowler hits one to Flores who makesa nice backup up the middle near second, gets the out.
• Rizzo roles out to Flores.

Inning 5 - Bottom

• 3-0 to Plawecki, comes back to 3-2, and now strikes out swinging on a changeup down.  Plawecki still isn't happy with the previous called strike.  0 walks, 5 Ks so far for Hendricks
• Hendricks makes very quick work of Niese, who strikes out.
• Lagares lines out to Denorfia, an easy inning.

Inning 6 - top

• Bryant walks on four pitches.
• Castro flies to straight-away center
• Denorfia squibs one past Niese, who sort of bare-hands it as it goes by him. Throws to first for the out, after contemplating attempting a double-play.  Runner to second.
• Szczur knocks one off the left field wall, scoring Bryant with a double.  1-0 Cubs
• Ross IBB to put runners at 1 and 2 for Hendricks
• Hendricks takes strike three looking

Inning 6 - Bottom

•  Szczur makes a nice running catch that takes him toward the left field foul line wall to get Granderson
• Tejada turns Fowler around going back on a fly ball.  Fowler makes a very awkward basket catch with the ball nearly popping out.
• A ball that bounces between Duda's feet is called a ball, he tries to sell it as having hit him.  Home plate umpire is having none of it.  Count moves to 3-0. Battles back to 3-2, before walking him on a fastball just off the outside corner.
• 3-0 to Murphy, now 3-1, Hendricks' pitch count hits 90 as Murphy hits a lazy fly to Szczur to end the inning

Inning 7 - Top

• Russell, leading off an inning for the third time, flies to Lagares.
• Cecilliani is in for Cuddyer, who perhaps is hurt.  I have never heard of Cecilliani before, ever.
• Niese strikes out Fowler swinging.
• Rizzo's swing drops him to one knee, and Granderson cuts off Lagares in the shallow right-center gap to catch it, ending the inning

Inning 7 - Bottom

• Darrell Cecilliani, who clearly is using an assumed name, and has stolen someone's goatee, hits in Cuddyer's place.  Rondon in to pitch. K's looking at an inside fastball that tails back over the plate.  Left knee soreness for Cuddyer, we're told
• 3-0 to Flores, comes back to get a bounce-out to Russell
• Plawecki bounces one to Castro for an easy 6-3.

Inning 8 - Top

• Bobby Parnell in to pitch to Kris Bryant. Goes from 0-2 to 3-2.  We have seen this before. Walks.
• Castro bounces into a 6-4-3.
• Len and J.D. have been in a very elaborate discussion about whether Charleston Southern U. is located south of Charleston, or not.  We learn it is not.
• Denorfia K's swinging at a pitch in the dirt, is thrown out at first to complete the job.

Inning 8 - Bottom

• Pedro Strop and his Impressively Cocked Hat are in to pitch.
• Johnny Monell in to hit for Parnell.  They aren't even trying to make plausible fake names, now.  Mr. Fake flies out to Denorfia.
• Lagares bounces one to Castro's left, makes the play.
• Strop gets a called strike 3 on a 3-2 pitch to Granderson.  It had a lot of movement on it, and Ross caught it way out of the zone, to Granderson's dismay.

Inning 9 - Top

• Sean Gilmartin in to pitch.
• Szczur strikes out swinging, ahead of a changeup.
• Ross strikes out swinging on a low and away fastball.
• Coghlan pinch hits, keeping his games-played streak alive.  Interesting, a lefty pinch-hitting against a lefty pitcher. J.D. theorizes it could help to neutralize Gilmartin's changeup.

Inning 9 - Bottom

• Motte in.  The internet ate the unsaved bits of my recap right before this was getting published, so I lost my thougts on Motte.  Short version: he looked dominant, with the 90 mph sinking... SOMETHING.... to Tejada for a swinging strike three looking especially impressive. Duda grounded into the shift, 4-3, and Murphy lazily flew out to end the game. Somewhere in there, Len and J.D. observed that of the Mets four base-runners, three came with two outs and none on.

Parachat Recap

 Inning 1

• Uninspired lineups for uninspired ballparks
• I've had ______ last  longer than the top of the 1st.
• Women who look like men, and men who look like women.  A female version of Kyle Hendricks.

Inning 2

• bizmarquis nails it:  my life is a Weird Al parody of a song by The Cure.
• Crunch joins, and suggests dinner to Spice Girls.  Several creative song titles suggested. Most referencing things I'm sure I don't get, though I enjoyed "Pictures of Yogurt" and "Just Like Hashbrowns."
• Is Pat Hughes slipping a bit?  Some concerned observations.
• Wildcard Race
• Michael Cuddyer's hair. What's the deal?
• biz claims it looks like a special-needs penguin.  Eh, I'll just say a penguin that got bad advice on a haircut.

Inning 3

• We get a duck doctor joke from Johann.  They're all quacks.  It quacks us up.  Quack.
• More on special penguins.
• Who mows at 6:44?
• My dad, among others
• Two-faced cats
• Two cats at the same time.
• Old Jacob Degrom
• My stupid love life.
• hitting with RISP
• The opposite of backpedaling is....
• "The janitor was not amused."
• Smotery vs. Smuttery

 Inning 4

• I can't believe it's __________
• Arrow-flying:  now the Official Parachat Sound Effect for Pegging.
• Plane sounds.  NYC airports.

Inning 5

• Dating advice from crunch.
• Crunch's anniversary gifts = proof no one should take dating advice from Crunch.
• Johann's suggestions for crunch's anniversary gifts
• An Iron:  it's like half of a george foreman grill.
• Johann really has a magical girlfriend.  We all love her.
• We really do.

Innning 6

• Johann compares the Cubs and Mets offense to a ....  yeah, I'm not going there. 
• Huston Street's remarks about only pitching the ninth.
• How they met their sweeties.
• Life-sized Anthony Rizzo Grope Chart.
• Growth charts, small seats
• Things I can agree with.

Inning 7

• Confusing David and Daniel Murphy
• Things you find searching through TCR's history
• sorta like__________
• 50 lbs of avocado sauce spread across your boss
• We learn very disturbing things about Crunch and Johann's baseball and sexual fetishes.
• Rondon's undefined role

Inning 8

• Horrificly bad Hector Rondon puns
• The emoji that does the King Tut dance.  Awesome.
• Len has turned into Steven Wright, observes crunch.
• Betty Davis Eyes
• Betty Davis Hips
• Jody Davis Thighs
• "If Starlin ever dated a profane prostitute Castro would be with a Crasshoe" - Johann.  He actually said this.
• Johann and Bizmarquis' theories about what Bryce Harper and a dominatrix have in common.
• Hey everybody, Brick is here!
• Bed bugs.  ~shudder~
• Mail-ordered bed bugs for those you despise.
• Motte's bedbugs.
• Motte's charity corn-holing.

Inning 9

• Make-A-Wish corn-holing.  Other horrible thoughts that I mercifully can't remember and are now lost forever since the internet ate the last bit of my recap. Stupid internet.

The Cubs go to 2-1 in games recapped in 2015.