April 25th Game’s Results and Analysis

April 25^th Game’s Results and Analysis

Chicago Cubs 4 – Miami Marlins 3

Winning Pitcher: Camp (1-1) Losing Pitcher: Cishek (1-2)

Save by Marmol (4)

Player of the Game: Luis Valbuena

The Chicago Cubs took the first game of their four game series against the Miami Marlins. The Cubbies got a quality start from Edwin Jackson, who went six innings allowing 3 earned runs on five hits and 4 walks. Nate Schierholtz put together another solid performance for the Cubbies by going 2 for 4 with a double and a solo homerun in the sixth inning off of Kevin Slowey. Schierholtz’s performance was good enough to be player of the game, but Luis Valbuena earned the player of the game because of his solo shot in the ninth off of Steve Cishek, which was the game winner for the Cubs.

Impressive: What impressed me in this game was how well that Nate Schierholtz performed in the game. Schierholtz had two extra base hits in the game, which helped the Cubbies come out with a victory over the Marlins. Schierholtz has performed well for the Cubs this year so far and I believe he has shown the Cubs organization that he should get every day at bats.

Surprising: I was extremely surprised with Anthony Rizzo’s performance in the game. Rizzo went 0 for 4 with three strikeouts. Initially I thought that Rizzo would suit up well against Slowey and at least get a hit off him, instead Rizzo struck out three times in the game. I was also surprised that the Cubs brought Hector Rondon into the game in the 7^th inning because the game was tied and I thought the Cubbies would only use Rondon when games are out of reach. However, Rondon pitched a perfect inning in the seventh and showed that he can be a reliable pitcher out of the bullpen for the Cubs.

Concerning: What concerns me about the Cubs is that they strikeout too much and tend not draw enough walks to drive up their opposing pitchers pitch counts. The Cubs struck out a total of 9 times in the game and didn’t draw any walks in the game. If the Cubs want to be a successful team this year or in upcoming seasons their hitters are going to need to learn to be more patient at the plate, which would lead to more free passes on the base paths.