Improved Box Score: Cubs 4, Diamondbacks 2



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The Cubs were in their last game when Rafael Ortega doubled up on the right in the start of the ninth. Robinson Chirinos followed with a left single to tie the game, as everyone had written. And then Willson Contreras got his hands on one to send it down the line.

He was clearly so powerful that he momentarily interrupted the Marquee flow:

Zac Gallen is a really good young pitcher, so he gets a lot of credit for holding the Cubs’ sticks down. They didn’t prepare anything until his final round of work when Willson Contreras, Anthony Rizzo and Javy Báez went single, walk, double with a sixth out.

It was an interesting outing for Adbert Alzolay, who was throwing clear on contact against lefties (the inside cutter was back), and didn’t hamper the puffs much. Alzolay hasn’t given up much in terms of hard contact – notably, no dingers today – but it’s unclear how much of this was the product of his success in executing a strategy of “Weak contact”, and how many were only the Diamondbacks having a really soft lineup.

Kudos to the Cubs’ bullpen for keeping the Diamondbacks two to get the Cubs back, and letting Craig Kimbrel finish.

Full score out of the box.



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