Cubs takeaways: What we learned as offense cools in loss to Nationals
CHICAGO — The Cubs had another opportunity on Saturday to reach 22 games over .500 for the first time in seven seasons.
That will have to wait another day.
On an afternoon that juxtaposed Friday’s 11-run offensive performance, the Cubs (81-61) managed just three hits as they fell 2-1 to the Washington Nationals (57-84). The tying run stood at second base in the bottom of the ninth with the Cubs having a chance to notch their eighth walk-off win of the season, but it was too little, too late.
Here are three things we learned as the series was evened:
Nats, Matt trade blows
It didn’t take long at all for the Nationals to jump on Matthew Boyd.
Boyd’s first two offerings of the game were scorched for hits: A first-pitch, 102.9-mph double led off the day for C.J. Abrams, and James Wood followed with a 112.6-mph single to put two men on almost instantly.
Washington continued to ambush Boyd after that, albeit in a quieter way. Jorge Alfaro’s soft liner cashed in Abrams for the first run of the game, and after Boyd got Josh Bell to fly out to center, a single from Daylen Lile loaded the bases with just one away for the visitors.
But a strikeout and some crafty defense from Nico Hoerner on a chopper up the middle ensured that Boyd got out of the inning with minimal damage done and just 15 pitches thrown.
The Nationals led off the second inning with another single from Brady House, but Boyd played to his strength — the pickoff — to catch House in a rundown and log his MLB-leading ninth pickoff of the season. With that, Boyd tied a single-season franchise record since 1901, equalling Charlie Smith in 1913.
It didn’t take long for Boyd to break that record — only three innings, to be exact. Boyd, who plunked Abrams to lead off the top of the fifth, caught Washington’s shortstop leaning to nab him as he dove back to first.
Though Boyd got off to a rocky start, it turned into a solid day of work for the lefty. His final line after seven innings included two earned runs on seven hits, with three strikeouts and zero walks.
Cold front
In Friday’s series opener, the Cubs’ offense was red-hot, exploding for 11 runs on 10 hits — four of those home runs.
On Saturday, though, Nationals starter Brad Lord seemed to have the Cubs hitters’ number.
Through four innings, Lord already had seven strikeouts and allowed just one hit, coming in the second inning in the form of a leadoff double for Pete Crow-Armstrong. Crow-Armstrong came around to score on Carson Kelly’s softly hit fielder’s choice groundout.
The Cubs saw their next-best opportunity of the game come in the fifth inning, when Nico Hoerner and Willi Castro took walks to put two men on with one away for Dansby Swanson. Swanson flew out, bringing up Matt Shaw to try to get a run across.
It looked like Shaw was going to do so — he lined the first pitch he saw into the right-center gap with Nationals right fielder Dylan Crews giving chase at full speed. But Crews got a great jump — the batted ball had an expected batting average of .340 — and snagged it to end the inning and the Cubs’ scoring threat.
Through seven innings, Lord and the rest of the Nationals’ pitching staff held the Cubs to just two hits, which would have equalled a season low had Hoerner not picked up a one-out single in the ninth.
P-C-Ouch
For the second time in four games, the Cubs saw an All-Star outfielder leave the game early.
On Tuesday, it was Kyle Tucker with left calf tightness. On Saturday, it was Crow-Armstrong, who left the game after the sixth inning with a right knee contusion.
Crow-Armstrong fouled a pitch that looked to directly impact his right kneecap. He crouched over in pain and tried to walk it off for several minutes while staffers checked on him.
The 23-year-old center fielder continued his at-bat and took a walk, but his day was over after the half inning and he was promptly replaced by Kevin Alcántara.
Crow-Armstrong will certainly hope he doesn’t miss as much action as Tucker, who has missed three consecutive games while dealing with his injury.
