April 15, 2015
Wrigley Field
Chicago, IL
Hello APBA Fans! Welcome to Scott’s Olde Tyme Baseball!, err, Scott’s Cubs Baseball? Looks like I’ll need some help with this one. Anyway, while last season is far enough behind me to not remember a lot about it, opening day at the still under construction Wrigley Field was one of them. Seeing the stadium with nobody in the bleachers was rather odd, but interesting anyway.
The other times I still vividly remember were the sweep of the Giants at home on a 4 game series to move into the final playoff spot in Augus, and of course Arrieta’s no hitter in LA. Well look at this, I get to swap a deadball era Jake (Weimer) for a modern era Jake. Somewhere the vaudevillians are not happy.
The other interesting note that I remember was the “Kris Bryant Saga”, mostly generated by $cott Boras and the media to make a story about nothing. Fortunately for me there is no countdown clock and Bryant will be starting at third on opening day.
So here we are, it’s a damp and overcast evening, and the clock atop the massive scoreboard in center shows 7:05, so the umpire has declared its time to “PLAY BALL!!”
Tonight’s game (another first for me) features Overpowering right hander Jake Arrieta, an A&C XYZ vs John Lackey, a B YZ pitcher. Arrieta cruises through the first inning with a flash and the Cubs come to bat for the first time this year. Center fielder Dexter Fowler leads it off and slaps an opposite field single to left on the third pitch from Lackey.
Lackey does his best to hold the runner, but Dexter’s off with the second pitch and Starlin Castro, not exactly a prime candidate for the hit and run, but after 6 years of dead ball play I cannot resist; Castro hits a rocket into the left field corner and Fowler scores the first run of the season! Anthony Rizzo works Lackey for a walk to put runners on first and second and the afore mentioned Bryant makes his major league debut.
Lackey gets the sign, and it’s a BP fastball and Bryant crushes this into the empty left field bleachers about halfway up for a 3 run bomb in his first big league at bat! Pitching coach Derek Lilliquist comes to the mound to settle his rattled hurler.
Whatever he said did not matter much to Lackey, because newcomer Miguel Montero rips a double into left field and one out later Austin Jackson draws a 7 pitch walk to put runners on first and second when another rookie, Addison Russell comes to the plate and gets a hit in his first at bat, a soft single to left to load the bases. Jake Arrieta strikes out, and Fowler ends the inning he started by popping up to the first baseman Mark Reynolds to end the inning, but the Cubs take a commanding lead 4-0 after just one inning.
Arrieta continues to roll with another 1-2-3 inning, and strikes out Johnny Peralta and Yadier Molina to finish the inning. The Cubs don’t score either, but Lackey pitches to Bryant with much more concern and he draws a walk and the inning ends still 4-0 Cubs in front.
Arrieta watches the perfect game end on the first pitch of the third inning as shortstop Starlin Castro boots an easy grounder off the bat of Reynolds. Brandon Moss then hits a grounder towards the bag at second and Russell makes a great stop and is able to flip the ball to Castro for the force, but there is no play at first and Castro has to hold the ball.
Lackey then lays down a sac bunt to put the runner in scoring position, but Jason Heyward hits a weak grounder back to the mound for an easy 1-3 ground out to end the top of the inning. Lackey continues to struggle with his control. Things looked good initially as he struck out Chris Coughlin to start the inning, but Jackson gets his first hit of the season and takes third on Russell’s second hit of the evening.
Arrieta then hits a one hop smash that finds Jackson caught in no man’s land and after a series of rundowns the Cardinals get a 5-2-3 double play to end the inning and keep them still in the game. Kolten Wong gets the first hit of the ballgame with a booming drive into the right center field gap for a double. Matt Carpenter then strikes out, and Jake gets the next two hitters with ease. The Cubs don’t score and the game continues as it was until the sixth inning.
Arrietta is finally starting to tire a bit as Heyward gets a single to right to open the top of the inning, but he tries for second and Montera fires a perfect throw to nail the runner! Jake looks fired up and strikes out Wong and Carpenter back to back for 5 on the night and the Cubs come to bat up by 4 in the bottom of the 6th.
Lackey gets Fowler and Castro to ground out to start the inning, but is clearly toughing this one out. Matheney gets the bullpen warming up as Rizzo comes to bat, and draws his third walk of the evening. Bryant comes to the plate, and Lackey, clearly knowing he is coming out anyway drills the kid in the ribs with a fastball. The Cubs bench gives him an earful, and the fans boo him loudly as Miguel Montero comes to the plate.
Lilliquist comes to the mound for the second time tonight, but is chased away soon afterwards as the bullpen is not yet ready. That was unfortunate for redbird nation as Montero crushes a three run homer to left field, just off of the batter’s eye in center for a three run homer, and Lackey hears it again as he walks off the field. Don’t worry John; you will get a much better reception next April I promise.
Marcus Hatley is asked to come in and hold down the fort, and he strikes out Coughlin to end the inning, but the home team is comfortably ahead 7-0.
The Cardinals get on the board at last as Stephen Piscotty drills a homer to center on the very first pitch. Pitching coach Chris Bosio comes out to check his starter and Jake is given the ok to continue and the bullpen sits back down. Arrieta then gets the next three hitters to end the inning.
So the seventh inning stretch ends and the Jackson strikes out to start the inning when Russell shows patience as Hatley was trying to work around him to get to the pitchers spot. Matheny was hoping that Maddon would lift his starter, but that didn’t happen and Jake gets a 2-2 fastball and he rips this one down the first base line and into the corner for an RBI triple! The Cubs lead is now 8-1. Hatley then retires the side but things are clearly over for this night.
Brandon Moss takes advantage of a hanging curveball, and drills one into the stands in left field for a home run, and the score is now 8-2, but Pinch hitter Randal Grichuk whiffs on three straight and the next two hitters ground out weakly.
The Cubs wasted a final chance with runners on the corners with nobody out, but Nick Greenwood, who had come on for the final inning strands the runners. The visitors get nothing in the 9th and this one is in the books. The Cubs get an 8-2 win in the first opening night in Wrigley Field history.
Rizzo was 0-2 with three walks, Bryant went 2-3 with a single, a homer, a walk and HBP. Montero had three hits and only needed a triple for the cycle (yeah right). Russell had a pair of hits and Arrieta allows 2 runs on just 5 hits, although 4 were for extra bases. He struck out seven and walked none. Lackey allowed 7 runs on 9 hits and allowed two homers.
