Recap: Quintana Shines in Cubs First Series Win
The Cubs got their first series win tonight after beating the Pirates 2-0. While it seems lately the story is always about the pitching, tonight’s pitching was very different than those others.
Jose Quintana made his season home debut tonight and my goodness did he like being back home! Q came out in the first firing strikes like a man on a mission to win. He struck out the first three batters; two swinging and one looking. By the end of the 7th, he would have 11 strikeouts to just one walk, 4 hits but no run. The Cubs defense had a clean game, not even a catcher’s interference, and the offense, though it had a few blunders, managed to string together some hits just in the nick of time to give Q the win.
Quintana got into a little trouble in the third when Musgrove went down swinging but still reached first base safely after Caratini was too slow tracking down a wild pitch. That was immediately followed up with a single from Frazier to put runners on the corners with only 1 out and the top of the order coming up. Q wasn’t worried. He got Marte to strike out before Cervelli ended the inning with a harmless flyout to center. He caught another break in the 4th when he allowed a lead off single to Bell. Fortunately, a timely pickoff throw caught Bell trying to steal second so there wasn’t anybody in scoring position, or even on base, when Cabrera later hit a long single that surely would have scored a run, had anybody been on second.
Joe Musgrove had a night similar to Q’s for at least half the night, though without near as many strikeouts. He gave up a 1 out double to Caratini in the bottom of the third but was able to work around it. Things finally got interesting in the 5th after a walk to Heyward and a single by Descalso put two on with one out and the pitcher due up next for Caratini. The ump had a low zone all night, though, and when a questionably low 3-1 pitch was called strike 2, manager Joe Maddon had enough and let the home plate ump hear it. Joe was warned, but he didn’t care. He knew what was going to happen if he went out on the field to argue balls and strikes with the home plate ump and the skipper went for it anyway. As soon as he got close to the ump, he was ejected. That still didn’t stop him from letting the ump know exactly what he thought of that strike 2 call. And when he was done, Joe went into the clubhouse. The at bat ended on Caratini striking out on a ball so low, even the ump would have called ball 4.
The Cubs had another chance at scoring some runs for Q in the 6th. Zobrist lead things off with a single to center and Bryant followed that up by working a walk. Rizzo nearly hit into a double play but somehow Bryant dived under the tag to avoid the out. Rizzo was out at first but there were runners on second and third with only one out and Javy Baez up next. What happened next is up for debate. The official record says Javy bounced to third. Zobrist and the throw both went home and Zobrist was out at the plate. Javy, meanwhile, was trying to argue that he had fouled the ball off his foot and, therefore, was still standing near the batters box when he was tagged out to end the inning on a double play. Javy did his best to convince the umps that it was foul but the play was called and after much discussion all around, it was determined that the inning was over and the play not eligible for review.
The rain was starting to pick up around then but Quintana took the mound in the 7th and he would be rewarded for it finally in the bottom half of that inning. The Cubs don’t have a batter hotter than Heyward right now and tonight was no exception, though this time he’d reach second on an error. Several different Pirates attempted to catch his pop up to shallow left but nobody came up with it and Heyward was on second by the time the ball was thrown back into the infield. Descalso then knocked Heyward in with a hit out to left, putting the Cubs up 1-0 and putting Q in line for the win. Caratini followed that up by driving in the insurance run with a double. Those two runs were enough.
A long rain delay followed the 7th. When action picked back up, Cishek pitched a scoreless eighth and fill in closer Pedro Strop got his first save of the season after pitching a drama free ninth.
The Cubs are now 4-8 on the very long season with Tommy LaStella, Mike Trout, and the Angel’s coming into town for a 3 game set over the weekend, though Trout is day-to-day with a groin strain.
