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How, how can you be this bad?
I guess the best way to frame it is this:
The #Cubs started the year 6-for-57 with runners in scoring position…and then they went into a slump.
1 for their last 25.
— Joe Sheehan (@joe_sheehan) April 16, 2021
And you can add one more failed at-bat as Joc Pederson struck out with the bases loaded to end the game. The Cubs are 7-83 w/RISP and 1 for their last 26. Holy shit.
Top 1
Zach Davies walks Ronald Acuña Jr.
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Eric Sogard makes a nice, sliding stop at second to throw out Freddie Freeman. Acuña moves to second.
Marcel Ozuna with a pop-fly to shallow left field. Javier Báez makes the catch.
Davies fields a slow bouncer from Travis d’Arnaud on the right side and steps on first to end the inning.
Score: Braves 0, Cubs 0
Bottom 1
Ian Happ lines a ball off the wall in left field. Ball goes right to Ozuna and Happ settles for a long single against Kyle Wright.
Willson Contreras gets on base with another HBP.
Rizzo gets jammed and grounds it to second, but it’s hit slow enough that the Braves can only get Rizzo out at first. Runners at second and third with one out for Kris Bryant.
Wright strikes out Bryant swinging on three pitches. Lots of movement on the 0-2 slider.
Joc Pederson flies out to center and the Cubs can’t cash in.
Score: Braves 0, Cubs 0
Top 2
Ozzie Albies taps one back to Davies for the first out.
Dansby Swanson walks.
Ehire Adrianza strikes out swinging.
Ender Inciarte pops up to Javy.
Score: Braves 0, Cubs 0
Bottom 2
Báez reaches on a HBP.
Heyward rips one to right and Báez races to third.
Sogard makes good contact, but the wind knocks it down. Deep enough in right-center, though, and Báez scores on the sac-fly.
Davies drops down a sac-bunt. Heyward to second.
Happ walks and it brings up Contreras with two on.
Contreras grounds a ball right up the box, but Albies is there and the inning comes to an end.
Score: Braves 0, Cubs 1
Top 3
Sogard makes another nice play, ranges to his right, slides and throws out the pitcher.
Acuña pops it up to Heyward, comes in to make the catch in shallow center.
Freeman draws the walk.
Ozuna lines a single to left.
d’Arnaud singles to left, Pederson bobbles the ball and Freeman scores easily to tie the game at one. Freeman was going to score regardless, but nothing seems to be going right for Joc.
Albies lines out to second.
Score: Braves 1, Cubs 1
Bottom 3
Rizzo strikes out swinging.
Bryant grounds out to third.
Pederson flies out to left.
Score: Braves 1, Cubs 1
Top 4
Swanson with a slow-roller to Bryant, who gets it on the bare-handed attempt and then Rizzo picks it for the out. Nice play on both ends.
Adrianza grounds out to Javy.
Inciarte lines a single to left.
Wright doubles down the left-field line and on the play Inciarte gets injured. He slowed down right before getting to third and he’s leaving the game. Joc bobbled the ball again on the transfer. If Inciarte doesn’t get hurt, then that’s probably another run for the Braves.
Acuña singles to right field and two runs score. Braves lead 3-1.
Freeman grounds one up the middle, Javy fields it, hesitates thinking about stepping on second base and then his throw was late to first.
Ozuna smashes one to short, Javy looses his footing, throws to home, but the throw is low and Contreras can’t get a hold of it, Acuña scores and it’s 4-1.
Part II: pic.twitter.com/8fvnkFFENw
— Matt Clapp (@TheBlogfines) April 16, 2021
d’Arnaud grounds out to KB, who steps on third for the final out of the inning.
Score: Braves 4, Cubs 1
Bottom 4
Báez gets hit for the second time. Nothing intentional.
Heyward strikes out swinging.
Báez steals second base.
Sogard strikes out looking and nothing going right for the Cubs. Ball looked inside.
Matt Duffy pinch-hitting for Zach Davies.
Duffy gets grazed by a pitch and that’s the fourth HBP for the Cubs today.
Happ grounds out to Albies.
Score: Braves 4, Cubs 1
Top 5
Jason Adam now pitching for the Cubs.
Albies strikes out swinging on a nasty breaking pitch.
Swanson walks.
Adrianza walks.
Adam escapes with no damage as he gets a strike em out, throw em out double play to end the inning.
Score: Braves 4, Cubs 1
Bottom 5
Contreras crushes a home run right through the wind to left field. Cubs cut the lead down to 4-2.
As the @WatchMarquee broadcast just showed, the wind is actually knocking balls down pretty severely (about 22 feet) right in the area Contreras hit it, making the HR even more impressive.
— Tony Andracki (@TonyAndracki23) April 16, 2021
Willy hits back.@BinnysBev pic.twitter.com/e7v3lTKUEu
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) April 16, 2021
Rizzo draws a walk.
Bryant strikes out swinging. He’s looked bad against Wright.
Grant Dayton comes in to pitch for the Braves.
Joc lines out to Dansby at short.
Javy chases a ball low and inside and strikes out swinging.
Second pitch of that at-bat to Javy tells the story of his season so far. He swung right through a four-seam fastball at 91 mph down the heart of the plate. Entering today, Báez had swung at 30 fastballs in the zone and whiffed on 19 of them. Just remarkable.
— Sahadev Sharma (@sahadevsharma) April 16, 2021
Score: Braves 4, Cubs 2
Top 6
Pedro Strop now pitching for the Cubs.
Johan Camargo pinch-hits for the pitcher and strikes out looking.
Acuña grounds out to Báez.
Freeman with a two-out walk.
Ozuna bloops a single to right and Freeman goes to third.
d’Arnaud strikes out swinging and Strop stops the two-out rally.
Score: Braves 4, Cubs 2
Bottom 6
Lefty Sean Newcomb pitching for the Braves.
Heyward strikes out swinging.
Sogard has a long at-bat, but he ends up flying out to left field.
David Bote pinch-hitting for the pitcher.
Bote works a full count and draws the walk.
Bote gets thrown out trying to steal second. He may also have gotten hurt on the play.
After Sogard's 13-pitch at-bat (ending in a flyout), Bote draws a pinch-hit walk to bring up the top of the order.
And then he's caught stealing to end the inning. Looked like he may have tweaked a hammy in the process.
— Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) April 16, 2021
Score: Braves 4, Cubs 2
Top 7
Dillon Maples in to pitch for the Cubs.
Albies with a leadoff double to left-center. Joc with another sloppy play trying to cut the ball off in the gap.
A wild pitch from Maples, Albies to third.
Swanson walks for the third time.
Adrianza drives in Albies with a sac-fly to center.
Maples strikes out Heredia looking with a slider.
Austin Riley pinch-hitting.
Riley walks.
Acuña grounds into a fielder’s choice to short.
Score: Braves 5, Cubs 2
Bottom 7
Happ hits it hard, but lines out to Ozuna deep in left.
Contreras with a hard single to center.
Rizzo serves up a single to shallow left-center and now Bryant comes up representing the tying run.
Bryant hits it right up the middle, but Albies is right next to the bag and turns the double play.
Score: Braves 5, Cubs 2
Top 8
Rex Brothers pitching for the Cubs.
Joc makes an awesome catch to rob Freeman of extra bases.
Joc Pederson with a hell of a play to take an extra-base hit away from Freddie Freeman pic.twitter.com/MxQGEecrxU
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) April 16, 2021
Brothers freezes Ozuna on an outside pitch.
d’Arnaud grounds out to short.
Score: Braves 5, Cubs 2
Bottom 8
Joc called out on a close play, but video review overturns the call, he gets an infield single.
Javy tries to bunt, pops it up and d’Arnaud makes a diving catch behind the plate.
Heyward strikes out looking and it’s another call that goes against the Cubs. Heyward let’s the home plate umpire know and the ump probably knew he messed because he said nothing back.
You don't see Heyward react in anger very often, but on a called third strike, he punched the air and yelled in the 8th. He did not agree with pitch No. 8 below… pic.twitter.com/m7VjuMp4Pg
— Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) April 16, 2021
Sogard strikes out looking.
Score: Braves 5, Cubs 2
Top 9
Rookie lefty Justin Steele pitching for the Cubs.
One gets away from Steele and he drills Albies, who leaves the game after taking one off his right knee.
Swanson flies out to right field.
Adrianza grounds into a fielder’s choice, safe at first, but once again video review overturns it and it’s an inning-ending 5-4-3 double play.
Score: Bravea 5, Cubs 2
Bottom 9
Jake Marisnick strikes out swinging.
Happ walks. He’s reached base three times.
Contreras strikes out swinging.
Rizzo walks and KB comes up again as the tying run.
Bryant walks on four pitches and the bases are loaded! Joc at the plate is the go-ahead run.
Pederson strikes out swinging and another Cubs loss.
FINAL: Braves 5, Cubs 2
