Cubs go cold, Matt Cain gets his first win in over a year, and Madison Bumgarner can literally do it all.
Sunday 5/22 - Giants 1 Cubs 0
Bumgarner (6-2) W vs. Hendricks (2-4) L
It was a monumental series win for the San Francisco Giants who were able to take two out of three games against a team they will likely face in the NLCS in October. Madison Bumgarner turned in a performance that was nothing less than stellar. Dominating the Chicago Cubs, Bumgarner allowed only three hits in 7 2/3 innings and drove in the only run of the game to lead the Giants to a 1-0 victory.
Despite a persistent problem hitting with runners in scoring position, the Giants were able to counter low production at the plate with stellar defensive plays which prevented the Cubs from reaching on base in crucial times.
Jake Arrieta was the only Cubs pitcher to record a win in the weekend series. The Cubs, whose fast start earned them Major Leagues' best record has dropped two straight to the NL West-leading Giants and have lost seven of their last 11 games overall. Both Addison Russell and Anthony Rizzo are slumping in the batter's box. On this road trip, Russell struck out 12 times in six games and Anthony Rizzo is 1-for-22.
Saturday 5/21 - Giants 5 Cubs 2
Cain (1-5) W vs. Lester (4-3) L
Contrary to popular Bay Area belief Matt Cain is not back to his old ways. He still continues to be the most overpaid pitcher in major league baseball. As the season continues so will Cain's losses. To summarize, Saturday's outcome was the result of a poor performance by Jon Lester, who gave up a double to a guy who hasn't gotten a hit since 2014.
Friday 5/20 - Cubs 8 Giants 1
Arrieta (8-0) W vs. Peavy (1-5) L
Arrieta continues to dominate the National League, giving up only four hits and one walk in Friday night's series opener vs the San Francisco Giants. The Cubs have won 22 straight Arrieta starts, tying Kris Medlen for the second-longest such streak in MLB history.
It may be time to give Chris Heston a call up from Sacramento and start working him back into the rotation. Or at least call him up to relieve Jake Peavy in the third inning. That is all he's good for. Peavy's repertoire is limited, and he is no magician with what he's got. Since Peavy arrived in the Bay, he has never consistently thrown deep into games, but the insanely high pitch count and the 20 to 30 pitch innings are killing me.
It would be unrealistic to expect Peavy to match the type of performance Arrieta gave on Friday but even for Peavy, Friday's performance wasn't close to being half as good.
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