On the 4th of July, I went to see the Cubs play the Tigers at Wrigley Field. The game was really fun and the Cubs took a well-earned W that they did have to work for, but they still won. I was really excited to see some of the Tigers’ players again, such as former Cub third baseman Jeimer Candelario and stud right fielder Nicholas Castellanos. I was also excited to see Francisco Liriano, the Tigers’ starter who I haven’t seen pitch in awhile.
The game was already set to be a good one. It was a 1:20 PM start time, partially cloudy, but it was really humid with 92 degrees set to be the temperature. I went through about 4 water bottles in case you were wondering what it felt like. I was pretty excited for the pitching matchups. As I mentioned previously, Liriano was starting for Detroit and José Quintana was starting for the Cubs. I hadn’t seen Quintana pitch in a little while so I was excited to see him back on the mound. On the way to the game, I checked out the lineups for each team.
Detroit Tigers:
- Mikie Mahtook – LF
- Nicholas Castellanos – RF
- Jeimer Candelario – 3B
- John Hicks – 1B
- Niko Goodrum – 2B
- JaCoby Jones – CF
- James McCann – C
- José Iglesias – SS
- Francisco Liriano – SP
Chicago Cubs:
- Albert Almora Jr. – CF
- Ben Zobrist – RF
- Javier Báez – 2B
- Addison Russell – SS
- Willson Contreras – C
- Ian Happ – LF
- David Bote – 3B
- Victor Caratini – 1B
- José Quintana – SP
Scoring for the Tigers opened up in the top of the first. Mahtook started off by striking out swinging, but Castellanos sent a deep hit to right center for a homer, giving the Tigers an immediate 1-0 lead. Candelario then popped out to Caratini for the second out. Next, Hicks walked and Goodrum singled, putting runners on first and second with 2 outs. Jones then struck out swinging to end the half inning.
Scoring for the Cubs opened up in the bottom of the second. Contreras led off the inning with a walk however, Happ proceeded to ground into a double play to Candelario to make it 2 outs with no runners on base. Bote then stepped to the plate and sent a fly ball deep to center and far enough to give the Cubs their first run with a homer and his first ever, tying it at 1 each. Caratini then lined out to Castellanos to end the inning.
The next half inning scoring resumed and ended for the Tigers. Castellanos led it off with a strikeout swinging followed by Candelario popping out to Russell for an immediate 2 outs. Then, Hicks came up and blasted a shot to left center field, givning the Tigers a 2-1 lead. Finally, Goodrum struck out to end the half inning.
Scoring resumed for the Cubs in the bottom of the fourth. Báez led off the inning with a single, and proceeded to steal second and advance to third on a throwing error by Hicks, putting a runner on third with no outs. Russell then walked, putting runners on the corners. With Contreras batting, Báez stole home on a pickoff attempt of Russell by Liriano, tying the game at 2. Contreras then struck out swinging and Happ flew out to Jones, giving the Cubs two outs. With Bote batting, Russell then stole second, but Bote struck out looking to end the inning.
Scoring resumed for the Cubs in the sixth inning. Russell led off with a ground out to Iglesias for the first out. Contreras then drove a deep shot to center, giving the Cubs a 3-2 lead. Happ then struck out swinging, giving the Cubs 2 outs. Bote and Caratini then walked, putting runners on first and second. Rizzo then pinch hit for Quintana, but popped out to Goodrum to end the inning.
Scoring resumed and ended for the Cubs and the game in the seventh inning. Louis Coleman was now pitching in substitution for Liriano. Almora led off with a walk and Zobrist singled to left, putting runners on first and second with no outs. Báez then struck out swinging for the first out. Russell then grounded out to Candelario, advancing Almora and Zobrist to second and third. Contreras then doubled, scoring both of them and giving the Cubs a 5-2 lead with two outs. Finally, Happ struck out looking to end the inning.
For the save, the Cubs relied on Brandon Morrow. Iglesias led off with a single to right. Jim Adduci then pinch hit for the pitcher Artie Lewicki. Adduci struck out swinging, Mahtook grounded out to Morrow, getting Iglesias out at second for 2 outs, and Castellanos then flew out to Heyward, ending the game and giving the Cubs the win.
Game Performances:
Detroit Tigers:
Hitting:
- Mikie Mahtook – 0-4, 1 BB, 2 SO
- Nicholas Castellanos – 1-3, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 2 BB, 1 SO
- Jeimer Candelario – 0-4, 1 SO
- John Hicks – 1-3, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 BB
- Niko Goodrum – 2-4, 2 SO, 1 1B, 1 2B
- JaCoby Jones – 1-4, 1 SO, 1 2B
- James McCann – 0-4
- José Iglesias – 3-4, 2 1B, 1 2B
- Francisco Liriano – 0-1
- Victor Martinez – 1-1, 1 1B
- Jim Adduci – 0-1, 1 SO
Pitching:
- Francisco Liriano – Loss, 6 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 5 BB, 5 SO, 2 HR
- Louis Coleman – 1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO
- Artie Lewicki – 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO
Chicago Cubs:
Hitting:
- Albert Almora Jr. – 1-3, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 1 2B
- Ben Zobrist – 2-4, 1 R, 2 1B
- Javier Báez – 1-4, 1 R, 1 SO, 1 1B
- Addison Russell – 0-3, 1 BB
- Willson Contreras – 2-3, 1 R, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 1 BB, 1 SO, 1 2B
- Ian Happ – 0-4, 2 SO
- David Bote – 1-3, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 SO
- Victor Caratini – 0-1, 2 BB
- Jason Heyward – 0-1
- José Quintana – 0-2, 1 SO
- Anthony Rizzo – 0-2
Pitching:
- José Quintana – Win, 6 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 4 SO, 2 HR
- Anthony Bass – Hold, 1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO
- Luke Farrell – Hold, 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO
- Brandon Morrow – Save, 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO
The MLB Enthusiast 