On Tuesday, I went to see game 1 of the Cubs vs the Tigers 4th of July series. The game was really fun, as the Cubs took a hard-earned W against the Tigers after falling in the lead against them early. That wasn’t the only exciting part though, as I got to see a lot of new players because the Cubs play the Tigers every few years, especially former Cub Jeimer Candelario who got traded last year for Justin Wilson. Another play was Tigers pitcher Michael Fulmer, who I hadn’t seen very often. I also was excited to see Cubs pitcher Kyle Hendricks again.
I was very excited for the game from the beginning. It was a 1:20 start time, but it was really warm, as it was humid, 83 degrees, and really sunny. The pitching matchup was definitely exciting, as Fulmer started for Detroit and Hendricks started for the Cubs, both of whom I hadn’t seen pitch in quite a while. As I was taking the train to the game, I checked out the lineups for the game.
Detroit Tigers:
- Mikie Mahtook – LF
- Nicholas Castellanos – RF
- Jeimer Candelario – 3B
- Niko Goodrum – 2B
- Jim Adduci – 1B
- JaCoby Jones – CF
- James McCann – C
- José Iglesias – SS
- Michael Fulmer – SP
Chicago Cubs:
- Albert Almora Jr. – CF
- Jason Heyward – RF
- Ben Zobrist – 2B
- Anthony Rizzo – 1B
- Javier Báez – 3B
- Kyle Schwarber – LF
- Willson Contreras – C
- Addison Russell – SS
- Kyle Hendricks – SP
Scoring started quickly in the top of the first. Mahtook led off with a single to right. Castellanos then followed with a single to center, bringing Mahtook to third with no outs. Candelario then grounded out to Zobrist, scoring Mahtook and bringing Castellanos to second with 1 out, making it 1-0. Goodrum then doubled to right field, easily scoring Castellanos with 1 out, making it 2-0. Adduci then grounded out to Zobrist, bringing Goodrum to third with 2 outs. Then Jones struck out swinging, ending the top of the first.
Scoring resumed for the Tigers in the fourth inning. Adduci led off with a single to left, Jones walked, and McCann singled to left, scoring Adduci and bringing Jones to second with no outs, making it 3-0 Tigers. Iglesias then popped out to Russell on the infield fly rule and Fulmer ground bunted into a double play, Rizzo threw it to Baez who threw it to Zobrist to end the inning.
Scoring started for the Cubs in the 5th inning. Tommy La Stella pinch hit for Hendricks and hit a ground-rule double to left. Almora then hit a double to right, scoring La Stella with no outs, making it 3-1 Tigers. Heyward then doubled to left, scoring Almora with no outs and making it 3-2 Tigers. Zobrist then grounded out to Goodrum, bringing Heyward to 3rd with 1 out. Rizzo then singled to left, scoring Heyward with 1 out and tying the game at 3. Báez then flew out and Schwarber struck out to end the inning.
Daniel Stumpf came in to replace Fulmer as the pitcher as scoring resumed for the Cubs in the seventh inning. Almora struck out to lead off the inning. Heyward and Zobrist then singled to right field, putting runners at the corners with 1 out. Rizzo then grounded into a force out to Goodrum, scoring Heyward and getting Zobrist out at second to make it 4-3 Cubs with 2 outs and a man on first. Alex Wilson then replaced Stumpf as the pitcher with Báez up, who struck out to end the inning.
Warwick Saupold came in to replace Wilson as the pitcher as scoring resumed and ended during the game. Schwarber led off, and hit a 375 ft homer on a line drive to right center, making it 5-3 Cubs with no outs. Contreras then singled to right, but was caught out running to second, making it 1 out with no one on. Russell then flew out to Jones, making it 2 outs with no one on. Ian Happ then came in to pinch hit for Steve Cishek and walked, putting a runner on first. Almora then grounded into a force out and Happ was out at second, ending the inning.
For the save, the Cubs relied on Pedro Strop. Adduci led off and grounded out to Rizzo, giving the Tigers their first out of the inning. Jones then singled to Happ, who was now playing left field. McCann then struck out, making it 2 outs and Iglesias grounded out to Báez, making it 3 outs, ending the game, and giving the Cubs the 5-3 win.
Game Performances:
Detroit Tigers:
Hitting:
- Mikie Mahtook – 3-4, 1 R, 3 1B
- Nicholas Castellanos – 1-4, 1 R, 1 1B
- Jeimer Candelario – 0-4, 1 RBI, 1 SO
- Niko Goodrum – 1-4, 1 RBI, 2 SO, 1 2B
- Jim Adduci – 1-4, 1 R, 1 1B
- JaCoby Jones – 1-3, 1 BB, 1 SO, 1 1B
- James McCann – 1-4, 1 RBI, 2 SO, 1 1B
- José Iglesias – 0-4
- Michael Fulmer – 0-2
- Victor Reyes – 0-1, 1 SO
Pitching:
- Michael Fulmer – 6 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 5 SO
- Daniel Stumpf – Loss, 0.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO
- Alex Wilson – 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO
- Warwick Saupold – 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 0 SO, 1 HR
Chicago Cubs:
Hitting:
- Albert Almora Jr. – 1-4, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 2 SO, 1 2B
- Jason Heyward – 2-4, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 2B, 1 1B
- Ben Zobrist – 1-4, 1 1B
- Anthony Rizzo – 1-4, 2 RBI, 1 1B
- Javier Báez – 0-4, 3 SO
- Kyle Schwarber – 2-4, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 SO, 1 1B
- Willson Contreras – 2-3, 1 BB, 2 1B
- Addison Russell – 1-4, 1 2B
- Kyle Hendricks – 0-1, 1 SO
- Tommy La Stella – 1-1, 1 R, 1 2B
- David Bote – 0-0, 1 BB
- Ian Happ – 0-0, 1 BB
Pitching:
- Kyle Hendricks – 5 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO
- Anthony Bass – 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO
- Justin Wilson – Win, 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO
- Steve Cishek – Hold, 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO
- Pedro Strop – Save, 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO
The MLB Enthusiast 