Chicago Cubs Return to Action with a Win

The Chicago Cubs resumed play on Tuesday after their scheduled series against the St. Louis Cardinals was postponed this past weekend. They began a quick, two-game road set against the Cleveland Indians and ended up winning the game by a 7–1 score.

Despite the run total they ended up with at game’s end, the Cubs offense did not come out swinging out of the gates. In the first five innings of play they only posted one run, and that came in the second inning on a single by Jason Heyward. Once they reached the sixth frame the runs started coming in bunches, as they put up five tallies in that one inning alone. Willson Contreras opened the scoring that inning with a sac fly, Ian Happ drove in one run on a single up the middle, and Heyward kept his strong showing at the dish going with a three-run home run to right field.

While that would be more than enough offense to secure the victory, the Cubs did put up one additional insurance run in the bottom of the seventh inning as Jason Kipnis scored on a wild pitch by Indians reliever Logan Allen.

Jason Heyward was the player of the game in this one as he finished 3-for-4 with that three-run blast and four runs driven in on the night. Their other Jason — second baseman Kipnis — had a nice return to his former home ballpark as he went 1-for-3 with a double, a walk, and a run scored.

The Cubs also got a very strong pitching performance from starter Jon Lester, who posted his second consecutive quality start in the victory. Lester completed six innings of work, and scattered just six baserunners in that span (three hits, two walks, one HBP). He also allowed one run during his outing, and that came in his final inning of work as Franmil Reyes hit an RBI double in the bottom of the sixth.

Chicago also got a solid night of work out of their bullpen, as no Cubs relievers gave up any runs in this contest. Ryan Tepera and Colin Rea came on to pitch the final three frames (Tepera in the seventh and Rea the last two), and combined they only allowed two batters to reach base — both coming in the bottom of the ninth on one hit and one fielding error.

With this win the Cubs move to 11–3 on the season and maintain their 4.5 game lead in the division ahead of the Cincinnati Reds (who won in walk-off fashion on Tuesday). They will have one more game against this Indians club before returning back to Wrigley Field for an extended stretch of home games against the Milwaukee Brewers, St. Louis Cardinals, and Chicago White Sox.

Stay tuned to Wrigley Rapport here and on social media for future news and notes as we cover the 2020 campaign.

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