Carl Edwards Jr. had a rough outing Wednesday night and was tagged with the defeat in the Cubs’ 4-1 loss to the Braves.
But I am not going to blame him, no sirree.
Instead I am going to blame the Cubs’ almost complete inability to take advantage of having the leadoff hitter on base. To wit:
2nd inning: Javier Baez leads off with a single
4th inning: Willson Contreras leads off with a walk
5th inning: Ian Happ leads off with a single
6th inning: Contreras leads off with a walk
7th inning: Addison Russell leads off with a double
8th inning: Kris Bryant leads off with a single
That’s six of the first eight innings with the leadoff hitter on base, one in scoring position, and in the first inning the Cubs had a runner on second with one out (double by Bryant) and in the third, a runner on first with one out (a single by Albert Almora Jr.