Chicago Cubs catcher Miguel Montero began using the hashtag #WeAreGood on social media way back in April. For a team on the heels of a fifth-place finish in the National League Central, it sure looked like wishful tweeting.
Fast forward to October and the hashtag now looks like a massive understatement.
The Cubs disposed of the Cardinals on Tuesday night to win the NL Division Series, having taken three of four from a St. Louis club that owned the best record in the majors this season. That’s certainly deserving of an adjective stronger than “good.”
Here are some takeaways from the series between the NL Central rivals.
Long ball and small ball: The Cubs bludgeoned the Cardinals with 10 home runs in the series, including a playoff-record six dingers in Game 3. Jorge Soler, Anthony Rizzo and Kyle Schwarber led the way with two homers each in the series, while Schwarber’s majestic long ball in Game 4 that cleared the Wrigley Field scoreboard in right field put the icing on what was an epic power display by the Cubs.
Lost in the barrage of bat flips, however, was manager Joe Maddon’s successful use of small ball during the series. In Game 2 he called for back-to-back safety squeeze bunts that were perfectly executed and contributed to a five-run inning against Cardinals left-hander Jaime Garcia.
The Cubs finished second last in the NL with only 32 sacrifice bunts during the season, but Maddon’s willingness to apply different methods in the playoffs to generate runs may prove useful in the NL Championship Series, where homers figure to be less in abundance against the powerful pitching staffs of the New York Mets or Los Angeles Dodgers.
Not to be outdone: While the Cubs rookies were hogging all the attention, Cardinals youngster Stephen Piscotty was having a fine series for himself at the plate. The rookie entered the playoffs having just recovered from a violent outfield collision in which he took a knee to the head and was subsequently hospitalized.
Piscotty recovered well, though, and was the Cardinals’ top source of power in the division series, batting .375 with three homers and six RBIs against the Cubs. The emergence of the 2012 first-round pick – he had a .853 OPS in 63 regular-season games – bodes well for the Cardinals, as it looks like they may have found another strong homegrown piece to fit nicely into their lineup.
Battling the ace: Cubs ace Jake Arrieta earned the win in Monday’s pivotal Game 3, but not before sustaining the type of damage he hasn’t seen in months. The right-hander, who had a historically dominant second half of the season, hadn’t allowed more than two earned runs in a start since July 25 – a stretch of 14 outings, including the wild-card game.
The Cardinals didn’t seem fazed, tagging Arrieta for four runs in 5.2 innings, proving the Cy Young contender is in fact hittable. The right-hander will likely get two starts in the next round, and he’ll need to return to form because the Cubs did not have particularly strong starting pitching in the division series. Jon Lester was solid in Game 1, but right-handers Kyle Hendricks and Jason Hammel failed to last more than 4.2 innings in Games 2 and 4, respectively.
Reversal of fortune: Speaking of starting pitching, that was the main ingredient to success for the Cardinals in the regular season – the collective’s 2.99 ERA was the best in baseball. However, with dynamic right-hander Carlos Martinez lost to injury in late September, Cardinals starters struggled against the Cubs in three of the four NLDS games.
The lone bright spot for St. Louis hurlers was the return of ace Adam Wainwright, who pitched his way back from a torn left Achilles in April to contribute in the playoffs. Thought to be done for the season, the all-star starter endured a gruelling summer of rehab and made it onto the post-season roster via the Cardinals bullpen, tossing 5.1 innings of three-hit, one-run ball over three relief appearances.
Strong backend: While Cubs starters failed to go deep into games, their bullpen for the most part was able to pick up the slack, collecting two wins and allowing five runs in 14.1 innings. Chicago relievers walked just one batter, struck out an impressive 21 and held hitters to a .200 average over the four games. The Cubs will need similar production in the NLCS, especially if their starters continue to struggle.
The Cubs will have to wait until Thursday’s Game 5 between the Mets and Dodgers to determine their opponent in the next round. Until then, maybe someone can help Montero find a new hashtag.