Today the Chicago Cubs started off very slow, but almost made a huge comeback. And the comeback started against one of the best closers in the game Aroldis Champman. However, the Cubs came up just short in a 6-5 deficit against the Cincinatti Reds. The Cubs now stand 11-18 on the season.
Winning pitcher: Mike Leake (2-1)
Losing pitcher: Carlos Villanueva (1-2)
Save: J.J. Hoover (1)
The good: The Cubs fought all the way to the end. Too bad they couldn’t pull off the win. The Cubs knocked one of the best left-handed relief pitchers and one of the best closers out of the game in the 9th inning – Aroldis Chapman. Chapman pitched only 0.2 innings and while he was in to try and close out the Cubs, he game up 3 runs, 4 hits and 2 walks. Dusty Baker eventually took Chapman out for Hoover and he struck out Darwin Barney for the final out. At least the Cubs did not give up and puty up a battle until the last out was made.
The bad: Darwin Barney has not hit since coming back from the DL. Yes, Barney isn’t in the line-up to hit, but he did struggle today. By him struggling, Barney couldn’t even get the ball in play in the 9th inning and struck out. Barney was 0-5 in today’s game and is hitting .179 on the season.
The ugly: The Cubs are going to have to make another change in the bullpen. The bullpen continues to give up runs each and every game and the starter has no chance to pick up a win. By the beginning of July, you will see a lot more changes coming in the bullpen. However, one will not be Kevin Gregg… he’s pitching great and the Cubs top relief pitcher right now.
Tomorrow the Cubs will try to avoid the rain and win game #2 in the 3-game set. Jeff Samardzija will try to make that happen for the Cubs and Tony Cingrani will go for the Reds. The game will be televised on CSN and heard on WGN radio at 12:05 p.m. central.