Game of the Week: September 4: CHC @ PIT

[Commissioner Erick]

Chicago Cubs (81-55) @ Pittsburgh Pirates (80-57)


CHC: Alec Mills (6-3, 3.86)
PIT: Casey Sadler (10-4, 4.78)


While there's no dispute that players determine what happens on the field, management plays a big part as well. It explains why the Cubs have surged and taken the lead in the NL Central under Brandon Hillebrand's stewardship.

Today, Mike McAvoy's Pittsburgh Pirates tries to wrest control back from Hillebrand's Chicago Cubs in an NL Central showdown.

Hillebrand has had to navigate a host of injuries to his pitching staff with Jake Arrieta, John Lackey, Brett Anderson, and even Aaron Brooks on the shelf. Fortunately, the starter tonight, Alec Mills, has been up to the task. Not blessed with an over powering fastball, Mills throws a two and a four seamer, and he has an excellent changeup and good slider.

Mills has worked between the bullpen and the rotation. His home runs are up as a starter, and his strikeouts are down. His walks are also down though, relying on a strong Cubs defense to guide him through the game. His most recent start was against the Pirates. He allowed only one run on a solo home run. He walked one and fanned five in 6 innings of work. Mills has developed some of that control and movement needed to thrive this year, a testament to the work of minor league pitching coach Rod Nichols, Cubs pitching coach Chris Bosio, Bench Coach Dave Martinez, and Hillebrand himself. Martinez, particularly, has a good relationship with Mills and Mills has grown while in the majors.

The Cubs also made a move earlier in the season that coincided with their stretch of good play, trading two minor leaguers for Nelson Cruz. In about 250 plate appearances, Cruz has bashed 14 home runs and knocked in 47, giving the Cubs the one bat they were missing to make their lineup extra potent.

They didn't need to go out and acquire a glove as the team's defense is up there with the Giants and Rockies as one of baseball's best. Addison Russell and Jayson Heyward are gold glove candidates who are also threats with the bat. The Cruz trade allowed the Cubs to get to another level offensively, while the depth in the rotation has allowed the pitching to find itself as the year has progressed.

This is bad news for Pittsburgh, who has tailed off a little from a hot start. They were swept in a four-game set last week, with their bullpen getting rocked and an inability to touch Chicago's relievers. The Pirates rebounded by sweeping Cincinnati, but this set with the Cubs is the last time Pittsburgh will play them all season. Pittsburgh can use the wins to produce the double blow of increasing their record while docking Chicago's.

With the exception of poor hitting from the catcher spot with Francisco Cervelli going down, and a bad August from Gregory Polanco, the team has been hitting during its relative swoon. Their 4.63 ERA was the worst among NL teams with winning records.

Casey Sadler will try to rectify that. He allowed five runs, three earned, in 3.1 innings against the Cubs last week. He did strike out five, though he walked three. He's given up 18 home runs this year and will need to keep that in check to beat the Cubs today.

The Pirates also need Polanco to turn things around. He went 8-14 against Cincinnati and their Triple-A caliber arms, but it may be the confidence boost needed to face the Cubs.


Questions for the GMs:


For Brandon Hillebrand, what were your thoughts on the Cubs when you took them over. What needed to be improved?

Talk about Alec Mills. He's been so important to your success but had to be an afterthought when you took over the team?

With Wade Davis out, who closes today should you need one?

For Mike McAvoy, critical game for you that John Jaso will miss with a bad hand. Who gets the start in his place?

Jung-ho Kang is due off the DL. What are your plans with him for September since he's been so rough with the bat this season.

Andrew McCutchen had five home runs and a .318 average in August. Do you feel like he's turning it around and ready to lead your offense to the playoffs?

[Commissioner Erick]

Cubs 4 - Pirates 2


WP: A. Mills (7-3)
LP: I. Nova (4-5
SV: J. Grimm (2)


The Pittsburgh Pirates started Ivan Nova, opting to have Corey Sadler go in relief. It may have been the wrong decision.

Despite a strong relief outing from Sadler, the Chicago Cubs battered Ivan Nova and got a strong outing from Alec Mills to down the Pirates 4-2. The win pushed the Cubs 2.5 games over the Pirates in the standings.

Nova was sharp early, retiring the Cubs in order in the first, but ran into trouble in the second. Kris Bryant singled up the middle, Jeimer Candelario singled up the middle, and the Cubs had two on with nobody out. Chicago's manager bot curiously decided to bunt Nelson Cruz for a successful sacrifice, and Jason Heyward followed with a sac fly to get the Cubs on the board 1-0.

Nova had more trouble in the second, again with hits off ground balls. Jon Jay pulled a grounder for a hit before Addison Russell stroked a line drive the other way to get another situation where the Cubs had two on and no outs. Rizzo grounded weakly to first to move the runners. Bryant pulled a grounder past Kevin Newman and into center field to bring in a run, before Canderlario hit a grounder Jung-ho Kang couldn't make a play on for an infield hit and another run. Cruz was plunked to load the bases, but Heyward slapped into a double play to get Nova out of further damage.

The fourth inning saw even more damage for Nova. He gave up a double to Miguel Montero with one out, before getting Jay to fly out. With two outs though, Russell again went the other way, grounding a ball past Josh Harrison to score Montero and give the Cubs a 4-1 lead.

Sadler, meanwhile, was sharp. He relieved Nova after Russell's hit, and immediately picked off Russell to end the inning. He then worked 2 more innings, allowing only one hit, to keep the Pirates in the game.

However, Alec Mills was sharp again, and got key ground balls whenever he wasn't. Andrew McCutchen, who is red hot, homered off Mills in the second, before David Freese teamed with Harrison on base hits to put runners on the corners. Mills struck out Kang, who has been miserable this season, before striking out Chris Stewart to end the threat.

In the third, Mills faced McCutchen with a runner on first and two outs, but Russell made a nice play moving to his left to gun down McCutchen's attempt for a base hit. Two base runners reached in the fourth, but Russell made a nice play moving to his left to field a Chris Stewart grounder, turning into a fielder's choice to get out of trouble.

The fifth was the only inning where Mills buckled. After Kevin Newman hit a ball up the middle that Russell finally couldn't make a play on, a wild pitch and ground out moved Newman to third. McCutchen came through again for Pittsburgh, grounding a slider up the middle to make the score 4-2. Gregory Polanco grounded out to end the inning.

Mills allowed a hit in the sixth but David Freese hit into a double play and Kang grounded out harmlessly to Russell to end the inning. Mills walked Stewart after a lengthy at bat to begin the seventh to end his day. He worked 6 innings, allowing seven hits and three walks, only striking out three. Still, two of the strikeouts were huge ones that ended a jam with runners in scoring position, and aside from the home run, didn't allow an extra base hit.

David Robertson, acquired from the White Sox midseason, allowed an infield hit to Starling Marte putting the Cubs in a bind. Newman struck out after being ahead in the count 3-0, and Josh Bell grounded into a 4-6-3 double play to ruin the Pirates' chances.

Pedro Strop worked a scoreless eighth, retiring McCutchen, Polanco, and Harrison. Even though he wasn't named the closer, it was the toughest part of the Pirates lineup up and Strop retired them without a hitch. Justin Grimm came on the ninth to take on the bottom of the Pirates lineup in the ninth, retiring them in order for his second save of the year.


Questions for the GMs:


For Brandon Hillebrand, how comfortable does it make you feel to know how many good options you have at the back of the bullpen?

Nelson Cruz dropped down a sacrifice bunt early. How do you feel about that decision?

Candelario has been in the lineup as a starter for some time now. He had two big hits. Is he going to be your starting infielder for the rest of the way?

For Mike McAvoy, Ivan Nova started this game though Sadler was more effective. Why did you make the change?

There were a lot of ground balls that slipped through. Are you happy with your team's infield defense today?

Gregory Polanco went 0-4 after appearing to maybe turn things around in Cincinnati. Do you drop him in the order if he continues to struggle?

[brandoncubs]

1) how comfortable does it make you feel to know how many good options you have at the back of the bullpen?
It's definitely been a team strength of ours, and am really happy with the production so far. With David Robertson coming over from the White Sox, and the near returns of Wade Davis and Hector Rondon, I feel very comfortable with the state of our pen. You can never have enough quality bullpen arms during September and October.

2) Nelson Cruz dropped down a sacrifice bunt early. How do you feel about that decision?
I must admit, I am not a fan of the move. We plan on looking internally in order to correct it for the playoff run down the stretch.

3) Candelario has been in the lineup as a starter for some time now. He had two big hits. Is he going to be your starting infielder for the rest of the way?
Candelario has been a huge boost for us since being called up from the minors. He definitely has an extremely bright future and I can't to see him fully develop. He recently went on the DL with an fractured finger unfortunately, but on return he will absolutely retain his starting job at third base.