Derailed by a awful bullpen last year, the Giants started this season the same way – even after trying to solve the problem by bringing in Melancon on a $62 million, four-year contract. That would be important because the Cards didn’t get anything in return from three departed players who combined for 60 home runs previous year – Matt Holliday, Brandon Moss and Jeremy Hazelbaker.
Arizona got a double and three singles after Melancon (0-1) retired his first two hitters in the ninth.
The Giants had 32 blown saves last season, including nine in September.
Willson Contreras tied the game for Chicago with a three-run home run in the top of the ninth on the eighth and final hit for the visitors.
That led to an offseason overhaul in the bullpen, headlined by the arrival of Melancon as a free agent.
Oh took over from starter Carlos Martinez with one out in the eighth and runners at first and second.
Mike Matheny summed up what he liked about Grichuk’s ninth-inning approach succinctly: “That it hit the grass, and we scored a run”.
Diaz stole both second and third base, but was left stranded.
Jeff Mathis broke up Bumgarner’s perfect-game bid with a one-out triple into the left field corner in the sixth. That mistake allowed the tying run to come to the plate – and the next batter tied the game, stealing away a win Martinez deserved. It is not tough to call Wainwright’s 2016 season disappointing. He hit.300 (9 for 30) with three homers and six RBIs.
The Cubs and Cardinals continue their opening week series on Tuesday, April 2 at Busch Stadium.
Given that this current Cubs roster has been compared to that Yankees dynasty of the late ’90s and early ’00s, maybe it’s a good sign that this team has a World Series streak of its own in the making.
Winning the World Series two years in a row is not easy, especially due to the inherent nature of baseball. The seven-time All-Star also has played an integral role in the development of the Cardinals’ pitching staff. It was, at the very least, convenient timing, with Chicago fans and the rest of the nation watching on ESPN. And the Cubs’ starting pitching looks thin if injuries hit.
Now the Cubs will try to repeat as champs, something no team has done since the Yankees of 1998 to 2000. Whatcha gonna do when Opening Day runs wild on you?
Our table was near the window, in flawless sight of the Cubs fan and the big screen where we all could watch St. Louis take on last year’s World Series champs, the Cubs – the team I love to hate.
This time, however, the ending didn’t work out quite as well. Injuries and inconsistencies plagued the team past year, however, which dampened expectations a bit heading into this season. Along with a team slash line of.256/.343/.429, they showed they can score runs in clusters with an OPS of.772.
“The first [spring training] outing stood out to me the most because of the way I felt”, Grimm said.
But now, after winning it all in 2016, Cubs fans can join the conversation. “It’s a good time”.
The Cubs Title defense is off to a not so good start. Probably. And speaking of that, maybe I should hold us all to a higher expectation.
Adding Wade Davis makes up for losing Aroldis Chapman and they have the prospects to make a big splash at the trade deadline.
“We’ll miss Dex a lot, and especially for the shorter term, it certainly hurts us”, said Theo Epstein, the Cubs’ president of baseball operations. Now that the Cubs are World Champions, they have climbed that mountain.