Cubs and Diamondbacks Clash in Wild Weekend Series at Wrigley
Coming into the weekend, the series between two of the best teams in the National League, the Chicago Cubs and Arizona Diamondbacks, was thought to be the series of the weekend. Not only did it end up being the best of the weekend, but it may be one of the best series of the season when it is all said and done. This three-game clash had clutch hitting, blown leads, extra innings, big-time pitching performances, and much more. The Cubs were able to come out on top, winning the series 2-1, so let's recap what was a crazy weekend at Wrigley Field.
Game One: 13-11 Cubs
This game was a Wrigley Field classic with the wind blowing out. The game started relatively normally as it was just a 2-1 game entering the seventh inning. Then, all chaos broke loose. Ian Happ hit a grand slam in the bottom of the seventh, then Arizona struck back with 10 runs in the top of the eighth against a struggling Chicago bullpen to take an 11-7 lead. This lead would only last until the bottom of the eighth, where the Cubs scored six of their own thanks to home runs from Carson Kelly, Kyle Tucker, and Seiya Suzuki. If there was one thing to take away from this game, it would be that neither of these teams has a bullpen that they feel comfortable with moving forward.
Game Two: 6-2 Cubs
Game two on Saturday was the calmest game of the weekend by far. Cubs starting pitcher Ben Brown worked around a lead-off home run by Corbin Carroll and some early command issues to put together a solid start. On the other side, Diamondbacks ace Zac Gallen struggled against this Cubs lineup for the second time this season. Suzuki and Michael Busch hit back-to-back home runs off Gallen in the second inning, putting the nail in the coffin for his start. The Cubs’ bullpen put together one of their best collective outings as a group where they only allowed one run over six innings to hold on to the lead for Chicago.
Game Three: 3-2 Diamondbacks
Sunday’s game was wacky before it even got started. The game was initially delayed because of rain, and then it got delayed again just 13 minutes after play began. Once the game finally got going, it was a pitcher’s duel between Jameson Taillon and Merrill Kelly in large part due to the fact that the wind was blowing in from all directions. This gave the game the opposite effect of game one, in which the wind was blowing straight out. The teams were tied at just 1-1 as they entered extra innings for the first time this series. The Diamondbacks took the lead in the top of the tenth thanks to an error by Nico Hoerner, but they were unable to add more runs. Hoerner made up for his error in the bottom of the inning with an RBI single to tie the game back up again. So, we went to the eleventh inning. The Diamondbacks took the lead again after an RBI single by Josh Naylor, but then he made the last out of the inning trying to steal home. The Cubs could not respond in the bottom half, and the Diamondbacks salvaged the final game of this wild series.
This series had the feel of a playoff series in April. The stars on both teams showed up in clutch moments, there were dramatic lead changes, and even extra innings. There is no doubt that these teams have their separate issues to address over the course of the season, but it is clear that these are two of the better teams in the National League. While these two are done playing each other as far as the regular season schedule is concerned, it would not be a shock to anyone if they matched up again in October. If this series is any indication of what a potential playoff series will look like, baseball fans would be in for a treat.
