The Cubs come up empty in a 7-0 loss.
After a sustained winning streak, a team will sometimes have a clunker. And so it was that after the 2024 Cubs historically put together a (checks notes) two-game July winning streak, the Cubs had a rough game. And certainly that will happen when you play an elite team. So the Cubs lost 7-0 to nothing to the (checks notes) 37-51 Angels.
So a bottom-five team came into Wrigley Field and mopped the floor with the Cubs. To be fair, a seven-run loss doesn’t count any more than a one-run loss. And I don’t have to look any further into the season to find a 7-0 win for them than April 12, in Boston. That Boston team can be pretty good. I also see a 7-1 win over the Rays. Getting away from the score, I see a 7-4 win over the Orioles and 6-5 over the Phillies.
By itself, one loss to any team, regardless how bad, means nothing. These things happen. It’s one loss and it doesn’t really matter. The only thing I particularly saw positive on this Saturday is that I had family obligations and basically didn’t notice the game happening. I did see Kyle Hendricks departing after two innings on an alert from one of my apps. But I largely tuned out the drip, drip, drip of the Angels scoring in the game.
It should come as no surprise, but there is no dramatic turnaround coming this year. So this team is sleepwalking towards a trade deadline. Some of these guys will be traded off and some shiny new toys will be added to an already developing farm system. The Cubs have historically done a pretty good job in trades where they are receiving prospects. So hopefully this will be a positive.
Sometimes after the pressure valve is let out, outside of the pressure of trying to compete, a team can find some fun. Maybe the latter part of this season will be more entertaining. The 2021 Cubs were actually somewhat entertaining down the stretch after the remaining core of the championship team were traded away. Guys like Frank Schwindel, Patrick Wisdom and Rafael Ortega produced some fun games occasionally.
I don’t know. This team has been equal parts completely uninteresting and frustrating. There hasn’t been a lot of fun. This has been one of the least entertaining Cubs teams I can remember. Of course your mileage may vary. But I’ve had very little temptation to make time to watch or listen to this team.
I’ve always tried to not be negative in this space. There’s little positive to say about a game as lopsided as this. So let’s hit the three positives and get through this number so we can turn the page on this team.
- Nico Hoerner had two of the Cubs’ four hits. They drew no walks and so there were exactly four baserunners. Nico was the only Cub to make it as far as second base.
- Tyson Miller faced three batters and retired them all. It was already 7-0, so there was no leverage. But effective is effective.
- Ethan Roberts had a bumpy ride, but he did throw two scoreless innings. I remain ecstatic for Ethan that he made it back to the major leagues. I’m hopeful that the remainder of the season gives him a good long opportunity to get some experience and maybe find himself a role for some team in 2025.
Game 90, July 6: Angels 7, Cubs 0 (41-49)
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Reminder: Heroes and Goats are determined by WPA scores and are in no way subjective.
THREE HEROES:
- Superhero: Nico Hoerner (.031). 2-4
- Hero: Ethan Roberts (.003). 2 IP, 9 batters, 3 H
*Ethan’s first return to H&G since April 28, 2022.
- Sidekick: Tyson Miller (.000). IP, 3 batters, K
*Miller is actually a subjective choice. In these lopsided games there are often multiple players with a .000 score. This is the one instance where I will break a tie and pick the player who did the most to contribute in a positive way. In this instance, Jorge Lopez also had a .000 but allowed a run in 1⅓ innings. In any other situation, Miller’s score would be higher than Lopez’ based on those contributions.
THREE GOATS:
- Billy Goat: Colten Brewer (-.200). ⅔ IP, 8 batters, 2 H, 2 BB, 3 R, 1 ER, HBP
- Goat: Kyle Hendricks (-.111). 2 IP, 11 batters, 4 H, 2 BB, 2 R, K, HBP
- Kid: Patrick Wisdom (-.047). 0-3
WPA Play of the Game: With one out and the bases loaded in the first inning, Mickey Moniak flew out to right. Seiya Suzuki made a catch and threw home to complete a double play and preserve the early game deficit at one. (.130)
*Angels Play of the Game: Keston Hiura singled with runners on first and second and two outs, driving in the second run of the game. (.102)
Rizzo Award Cumulative Standings: (Top 5/Bottom 5)
The award is named for Anthony Rizzo, who finished first in this category three of the first four years it was in existence and four times overall. He also recorded the highest season total ever at +65.5. The point scale is three points for a Superhero down to negative three points for a Billy Goat.
- Michael Busch/Ian Happ +13
- Shōta Imanaga/Seiya Suzuki +11.5
- Ben Brown +11
- Nico Hoerner -7.5
- Adbert Alzolay/Miguel Amaya -10
- Kyle Hendricks -15
- Christopher Morel -16.5
*Hoerner up to -4.5 gets some space from the bottom five, Miller and Roberts to +2. Hoerner and Wisdom down to -5, both falling below Hoerner. Hendricks down to -15.
Up Next: Hayden Wesneski (2-5, 4.14) needs to keep the ball in the park. He’s been allowing homers at an alarming rate. Dating to June 4, he’s allowed at least one homer in seven of his nine appearances. That would be worrying out of a full time starter, but for Hayden, there have only been two starts in this stretch. Four of these nine outings were one inning or less and there was a homer in each of those.
25-year-old Jose Soriano (4-6, 3.77) is in his second year as an Angel and his first as a starter. The A’s actually scored four runs against him in four innings in his last start. Before that, he hadn’t started since June 12. He made only two starts in June and won them both. He missed the rest of the month with an infection.
So this is no gimme. Let’s see if the Cubs can meatloaf the Angels.
