Series 19 Cubs at Giants

    Game 1

     The Cubs fell in the first game of the road trip as Crawford led the way for the Giants. The Giants got the scoring started in the second as Crawford singled home Flores for the early lead. The Cubs would strike back quickly though. Pederson would become the fourth Cubs to blast a homer into McCovey Cove as his 2 run bomb grabbed the lead for the Cubs. The Giants would tie the game in the bottom of the fourth as Descalfani got his first hit of the year on a double to deep right that plated Tauchman. The game would get out of hand in the fifth though. The Giants started the inning with two singles and a walk but Dickerson got picked off to prevent the bases from being loaded. Davies would leave the game responsible for the runners on base as Brothers came in to pitch. Crawford immediately hit a 3 run shot that gave the Giants the lead for good. The Giants would add 2 more runs in the bottom of the seventh as the Cubs went down quietly with only 1 baserunner in the last 4 innings of the game.

    Game 2

     The Cubs started brightly as Bryant would blast a 2 run shot in the first to grab an early lead. It wouldn't last as Arrieta struggled and only lasted 2 innings as the long ball plagued him. The Giants would plate 6 runs in the second as both Duggar and Dickerson went deep. Pederson would get the Cubs closer with another homer this one to left as the Cubs tried to get back in this one. Two solo homers by Vosler and Wade in the fourth put the game away for good. The Cubs would get one back in the fifth but whimper away in the later innings as they fell 8-5.

    Game 3

     The Cubs started brightly again as Wisdom homered in the second to grab a 2-0 lead. Gausman would dominate afterward though as he set down 15 straight hitters after the homer. Stewart struggled with his command in this one and that meant he only last 3 2/3 innings. That meant more innings from a bullpen that had already been overworked. The Giants grabbed four runs over 3 middle innings that was enough to last the game. The Cubs would get within 1 in the ninth as they rallied but couldn't find the tying run as they went down 4-3.

    Game 4

     Hendricks struggled early in the game as has been his bugaboo this year. The Giants would score 3 runs in the first 2 innings. The Cubs would rally back though. Starting in the second with the first of 2 homers from Wisdom. He would hit his second in the fourth to tie the game at 3. The Cubs would take the lead on an error by Posey in the fifth as Hendricks scored. Hendricks pitched well and got to the seventh before leaving with a quality start after the early trouble. The bullpen shut them down as Bryant made an incredible catch in left to preserve the lead in the ninth.

    The good

     Patrick Wisdom is mashing right now. HE is providing almost the whole offense as Happ clearly said the game plan is to get on for him and let him work. Hendricks battling back in his start was huge as he provided some innings and got a quality start for the Cubs. Pederson also found some power in the series as he hit 2 homers as well. Getting Heyward back is nice as the Cubs start to get healthy.

    The bad

     This series showed the problems with the roster this year so far. The Starting rotation didn't pitch well enough or long enough outside of Hendricks. The lack of inning eating hurt the bullpen as it is pitching far too often. Run creating was also a struggle as Wisdoms bombs provided most of the firepower in this series.

    Looking ahead

     A 3 game set with the Padres will end the west coast trip. The Cubs are in a tie for first and need to stay hot as the Brewers start to heat up. The Cubs will get 100% capacity as they return to Wrigley for a series against the Cardinals this weekend. Wrigley will be rocking and it'll be a great series to watch as two top teams that are rivals will have a lot to play for.