WPA Play of the Game: Albert Pujols homered leading off the seventh inning off of Drew Smyly to provide the only run of the game. Reminder: Heroes and Goats are determined by WPA scores and are in no way subjective. Game 121, August 22: Cardinals 1 at Cubs 0 (52-69) Fangraphs Kervin Castro bounced back from some rough outings, only needing three batters to record three outs, despite issuing a walk.Sean Newcomb threw a perfect inning, striking out one.He allowed the Pujols homer among four hits over seven innings, only needing 26 batters to record 21 outs. Let’s talk about the Cubs, it couldn’t have all been bad in a game in which they held the opponent to a single run. Oh, and he’s 3-0 in those three starts.Įnough accolades for Cardinals. He’s only struck out 15 batters, but with an ERA of 0.79, he hasn’t been hampered by a pedestrian strikeout rate. The only three times he’s faced them.Īcross those three games, he’s pitched 22⅔ innings, allowed nine hits, four walks, three runs (two earned). So, of course, three of the four longest starts of his career occurred against the Cubs.
Oh, wait, in May 2017 against a much better version of the Cubs, Jordan threw 6⅔ innings facing 28 batters against them. In that one, he held the Cubs to five hits in seven innings. Or maybe there was a precedent? One of those other 28 batter outings was in June of this year as a Yankee starter. Jordan had previously never recorded a major league out in the eighth inning as a starter. Montgomery had only faced close to this many 28 batters three previous times, those games were 28, 28, and 29. Unlike the Pujols performance, there is no precedent for this one. Montgomery completely mystified the Cubs hitters.
It literally can’t go much better than that. Just one double to Christopher Morel stood between him and history. Pujols, though, this night belonged to Jordan Montgomery. The Cubs got a bit of a respite while he was in the AL, but wouldn’t you just know he’d get in a few more shots on the way out? Some of his best production has come at the expense of Cubs pitching.
He’s heading there after years of tormenting the Cubs. Whatever it is, the Cardinals slugger is on his way to Cooperstown. Perhaps he’s rejuvenated by having a chance to play deep into the postseason again after so many disappointing years in Anaheim. But did most of us see Albert Pujols hitting a key homer coming after he found the fountain of youth at 42? Somehow, the veteran slugger has turned back the clock as his career winds down. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I didn’t see a 1-0 game or the Cubs only getting one hit while being “Maddux’d” coming. I wish the outcome of this one was less foreseeable.