Kudos to the Cubs’ bats, man, because they sure tried to come back in this one multiple times. Ultimately a couple pitchers made those efforts unproductive, but I loved seeing the Kris Bryant grand slam, the additional run to tie things back up, and then Willson Contreras’s bomb to get the Cubs oh so close. I’m not happy they lost, and there are no participation trophies, but given the issues that have plagued the team, I dug the offense. Nico Hoerner with two hits atop the order, too.
I don’t have a lot to say about Zach Davies that you don’t already know. He is wild in general, which is yielding walks. He cannot locate his sinker down, so he’s not getting soft contact. He tried to lean more on his changeup tonight to counteract all of that, and the Braves jumped all over it. Something’s gotta give, whether it’s an injury (that explains the issues) or a move to the bullpen for a while. He’s not right, and through five starts, his location seems only to be getting worse. Heck, his best start of the year was that shaky opener in the cold against the Pirates. And even that one was a “well, you know, he could get better from here.”
Trevor Megill looked compelling in his debut, as we thought he might. There are some serious bones there if the command plays. He touched 99 mph tonight from his ridiculous delivery height and angle. Andrew Chafin had a good bounceback appearance, and Dan Winkler even managed a scoreless, walkless(!) eighth.
