Leadoff man Willson Contreras saw exactly two pitches in the first inning. But they came eight batters apart.
The Cubs catcher (DH-ing tonight) hit the first pitch 394 feet to right-center field for 107 MPH leadoff double. And he hit the second one into the left field bleachers (422 feet, 105 MPH) for a two-out GRAND SLAM to put the game out of reach after just two outs. It was also the 100th home run of his career.
Of course, the Cubs didn’t need 7 of those 8 first-inning runs (or the ninth run they added later), because Wade Miley was an absolute STUD tonight in his first start as a Cub at Wrigley Field. He went three-up, three-down in six of his seven innings and held the Pirates to just ONE hit and nothing else his entire time on the field. In fact, he had a perfect game going through two outs in the 5th inning, when Michael Chavis (who’s officially off my Christmas Card list) called timeout late, not once but twice to throw Miley off his rhythm. And it worked. Chavis laced a line drive single to left field immediately after. Miley was pretty clearly annoyed, but he didn’t let it bother him. He got the next batter to ground out and then went six up, six down to finish the next two innings. Seriously, what a stud. More on him tomorrow, for sure.
Michael Rucker took over after that, throwing a messy, but ultimately scoreless 8th inning and a very quiet 9th. Great game, great win. Go Cubs.
