2024 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 146

It's possible that some of us have different impressions of this. In my opinion, this team played itself out of contention before the trade deadline. This team's last road trip put the Cubs on the brink of playoff chances, at least for a moment. But even then, they had a decent deficit, two teams to overtake, tiebreaker issues, and an increasingly tough schedule that made the odds pretty slim overall.

If you saw things through those eyes, you'd probably see last night's game differently. I see a team that isn't a contender yet, but is trying to open a window to compete. A team that is still learning how to compete against good teams and show its consistency night after night. For this team, a win in LA would have been a realistic expectation. Two wins would have been extraordinary. A sweep would have been stunning.

When I saw the pitchers' clash last night, I immediately had a bad feeling. I saw an opposing pitcher with an ERA of almost 8.00 and thought, this is exactly the kind of guy who will frustratingly shut down the Cubs and leave us mumbling. And then the Cubs scored two points. The young man found his stride and was able to give the Dodgers some length after this rocky start, which was certainly not least due to the Dodgers' dynamic offense, which gave him five runs in the first inning.

After that first inning, it would have been easy for the Cubs team to just write it off and mentally prepare for the trip to Colorado for the series this weekend. But I give them credit for a close and good performance in a road game against a true World Series contender. The Cubs made a very nice comeback and tied the game in the fifth inning. One of the few things that frustrated me was the baserunning error that cost Ian Happ a chance to hit with the bases loaded and take control of the game.

The same could be said about the player caught stealing in the ninth inning. That robbed Nico Hoerner of an opportunity. That was such an unnecessary risk. Even if he steals third base and Busch follows with a sacrifice fly, you're still down one point. I know you're trying to get Bellinger into scoring position with the tying run. I love the resurgence of stolen bases. It's a fun aspect of the game. But we shouldn't completely throw out the nerds' data about marginal gains versus risk.

I'm not going to get too worked up about this team facing a heavy hitter, fighting their way out of a jam, and staying in the fight until the final whistle. My biggest issue is the unforced errors in baserunning. Eight runs should almost always win the game. The pitching on this team has been so excellent, especially the starting pitching. I'm not going to waste 500 words on the Dodgers offense taking off after being stymied two nights in a row.

With Jordan Wicks only lasting three innings, the Cubs were forced to use five different relievers to get through the rest of the game. It's quite possible that Porter Hodge was unavailable, so the Cubs largely emptied their bullpen. The only real question is why Drew Smyly wasn't used at some point. He faced only four batters in the Series and five in the Yankees series. I suspect something is going on, because he's often one of the first players called in as long reliever on the rare days this team needs it. The Cubs haven't used Nate Pearson on back-to-back days since mid-August in Cleveland.

One of those three players would have been reserved for the ninth inning and another in case the game went beyond the ninth inning. After not using him to begin with, Smyly would have to fill one of those two roles when he is not injured. One has to assume they would be very cautious with the up-and-coming Hodge.

I have to give the Cubs an A for this series. I have no concerns with the pitching performance last night and am only deducting the + because of the unforced baserunning errors that prevented potentially game-winning batting appearances. The Cubs are nowhere near good enough to allow outs against a team as good as the Dodgers.

The Cubs beat the Yankees and Dodgers 3-3, a reasonable result. My assessment is that the margin of error is one loss in their last 16 games. The only option is to go to Colorado and blow off a terrible Rockies team. Return home seven games over .500 and hope that both teams somehow stumble in front of you. And then, most importantly, try to really capture that relentlessness they've shown on the road the last few weeks. This isn't a world-class team, so it would have to be a champion through a combination of internal development, smart additions, and maximum effort day in and day out.

Let's find three stars. On a night when pitchers allowed 10 runs, they'll all be hitters. But first, I'll tip my hat to Ethan Roberts and Tyson Miller for perfect innings as the Cubs tried to fight back.

Three stars:

1. The Cubs had only six hits. The only reason they were in the game was because of 10 walks allowed by the Dodgers pitching staff. They managed two home runs and a double. No Cubs had two hits. Cody Bellinger had a three-run home run and two walks. He scored twice.
2. Isaac Paredes is on a roll. He had just one single, but managed three walks and a sacrifice fly. Two runs were scored and one run was scored.
3. Seiya Suzuki also had a home run and two walks. He scored twice. It was a tough call to use him here because of the disastrous baserunning decision at the end. This was a weird game though. Miller's sixth inning with a tie and Betts and Freeman would be my next choice.

Game 146, September 11: Dodgers 10, Cubs 8 (75-71)

As a reminder, Heroes and Goats are determined by WPA ratings and are in no way subjective.

THREE HEROES:

• Superhero: Cody Bellinger (.278).
• Hero: Isaac Paredes (.092).
• Buddy: Tyson Miller (.075). IP, 3 batters, K

THREE GOATS:

• Billy Goat: Jordan Wicks (-.524). 3 IP, 21 batters, 8 H, 4 BB, 7 R, 2 K

*This is just outside the top 10 worst WPA game results by a Cub this year.

• Goat: Shawn Armstrong (-.162). IP, 6 batters, 2 H, BB, R (L 3-3)
• Child: Trey Wingenter (-.098). IP, 5 batters, 2 H, 2 R

WPA move of the game: Gavin Lux hit a single in the seventh inning with runners on first and third base and two outs to give the Dodgers an 8-7 lead. (.198)

*Cubs play of the game: Cody Bellinger's three-run home run with one out in the fifth inning tied the game at 7-7. (.194)

Cubs Player of the Game:

Yesterday’s winners: Pete Crow-Armstrong received 195 of 246 votes.

Overall Rizzo Award score: (Top 5/Bottom 5)

The award is named after Anthony Rizzo, who won the category three times out of the first four years it was introduced and four times overall. He also earned the highest season total of all time at +65.5. The points scale ranges from three points for a superhero to minus three points for a goat.

• Shōta Imanaga +20.5
• Christian Bethancourt/Porter Hodge +15
• Seiya Suzuki +13,5
• Javier Assad +12.5
• Miles Mastrobuoni/Adbert Alzolay -10
• Miguel Amaya-11
• Kyle Hendricks -14
• Isaac Paredes -16
• Christopher Morel -20.5

*Bellinger rises to +1.5, Paredes moves away from last place, Miller rises to +3. Wicks drops to -7.5, Armstrong drops to 0, Wingenter debuts at -1. Wingenter is the 49th Cub to appear at H&G this year. In total, 52 players have appeared in at least one Cub game.

Every year there are a few guys who play but don't register with H&G. This year it's Garrett Cooper, Jesus Tinoco and Jack Neely. Cooper may hold the record for the longest period of time without playing. 12 games and 41 plate appearances is a long time to be invisible.

Next: Thursday is a day off. The series with the 54-92 Rockies begins on Friday. Javier Assad (7-5, 3.14) is scheduled to start the series opener.