WRIGLEY FIELD- "I'm impressed but not surprised...he's been doing that stuff the last couple of years." That's Kris Bryant giving props to #ELMago Javier Baez who pinch hit for Daniel Descalso in the bottom of 9 and walked it off with a 1st pitch single down the 1st base line to give the Cubs a 3-2 comeback win over the Philadelphia Phillies at The Friendly Confines. (Baez was out of the starting lineup for the 2nd straight game with a heel injury. He's hitting .323 with 11 HR & 32 RBI...#RAKINGSEASON)
Final Score- Cubs 3 Phillies 2
Summary- Kris Bryant talks about obsessing over the little things in baseball that help his team win games like running the bases hard. He did just that as he scored from 2nd on a Willson Contreras ground out to shortstop to get the Cubs on the board first in the bottom of 1. The Cubs had a run removed in the bottom of 4 after Phillies manager Gabe Kapler challenged a Bryant double that bounced off of the left field scoreboard behind the home run basket that scored Kyle Schwarber. It was ruled out of play and Schwarber had to return to 3rd base. Anthony Rizzo flew out to center to end the inning and Philly escaped unscathed. The Phillies took the lead in the top of 7 on a 2 out 2 rbi single by Andrew McCutcheon to give them a 2-1 lead. The Cubs tied the game in the bottom of 9 on a fielders choice rbi by Albert Almora Jr. after a leadoff walk by Bryant & a double by Rizzo. Contreras flew out to shallow right field for the first out & Jason Heyward was intentionally walked to get to Almora. Javier Baez pinch hit for Daniel Descalso and came thru in the clutch with a walk-off single on the 1st pitch to give the Cubs the 3-2 comeback win.
Jose Quintana pitched 6 scoreless innings giving up 2 hits while walking 3 and striking out 4 on 100 pitches for a QUALITY OUTING! The Cubs bullpen gave up the lead in the top of 7 as Carl Edwards Jr. gave up 2 hits & Brandon Kintzler gave up the 2 rbi single to McCutcheon. Kyle Ryan got the last 2 outs in the top of 9 and picked up his first win.
Player(s) of the game- #TheNatural Kris Bryant was 3-4 with 2 runs scored and got the leadoff walk to start the 9th inning rally
Play of the game- #ELMago Javier Baez with the pinch hit walk-off single in the bottom of 9 to give the Cubs the W
Quote of the game- "Javy got taped up and said he was ready to hit. The thing about him is what he showed you. He's not gonna wait around. It's just fitting." - Joe Maddon on Baez' walk-off single
Next game- 5/22 first pitch 7:05pm...Cole Hamels (CHI) v Cole Irvin (PHI)
*Albert Almora Jr is hitting over .350 with an OPS over .960 in his last 23 games...his first 21 games he hit .182 with a .482 OPS.
"I think it's just part of baseball. It's a tough sport. I just have a lot of confidence in myself & I try not to lose that when sometimes it's inevitable & it gets away. You just have to battle against yourself to get back to that and just keep trusting."