Game 2 of one the top rivalries in baseball and the Cubs hope to break thier 3 game losing streak with Jason Hammel facing Michael Wacha (who I should not have started on my fantasy team).
Dexter Fowler leads off the game with his 15th double of the season and would move to third as Jason Heyward grounds out. Fowler would cross the plate for the first run of the evening when Kris Bryant smacks one into left field. Anthony Rizzo singles the Wacha loads the bases unintentionally walking Ben Zobrist. Then Jorge Soler reaches first for an RBI walk. After Rizzo is forced out at home on Addison Russell’s ground ball to first base, David Ross would double bringing in two more runs. Then Jason Hammel helps his own cause doubling to center bringing in two more runs. Batting around the order, Fowler lines out to end the inning. Cubs score 6 to start the game.
It would appear Wacha would curb the Cubs, until the 5th inning when Ben Zobrist leads off with a double, then Soler takes him deep to center field for his 4th home run of the year. Wacha would be pulled for Tyler Lyons, who would get into trouble but would get out of the inning.
Jason Hammel would prove tonight that he is for real and a deserved pitcher in this rotation. In 7 1/3 innings he would strikeout 4, walk 3 and give up only 4 hits. Two of the hits would be doubles in the 8th allowing his only earned run of the night. That’s when Maddon would take him out for Justin Grimm to end the 8th.
Dean Kiekhefer would come into the 9th to hold the Cubs from adding to thier total. He’d hit Baez but get Soler to fly out. Russell would ground out on a very close call at first that Maddon would challenge to be overturned for a single. Tim Federowicz pinch hits for Ross hit a soft fly ball to center scoring Baez. Matt Szczur pinch hits for Grimm belting a stand up triple deep into center adding two more runs. Then Fowler singles making it a 12-1 game. Bryant would go down swinging to end the inning.
Clayton Richard enters the bottom of the ninth. He would load the bases on three straight hits, the first reaches on an error. Ruben Tejada scores an RBI on a sac fly to right then Randal Grichuck singles to center adding another run. He gets Kolten Wong to ground out but then hits Brandon Moss to prompt Maddon to bring in Trevor Cahill to end the game. Great win tonight for the Cubs!!
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