Chicago Cubs Score and Recap (8/30/24): Cubs 7, Nationals 6 – One Big Inning Is Enough…Barely

I’ll be honest folks, I totally forgot to get this out last night. Sean usually does the recaps and I’m covering for him, but I was too exhausted to do anything other than lie on the couch all night. Really hoping this long weekend helps me hit the reset button because the Cubs have been very fun to watch lately and I’d like to enjoy that a little more.

In light of my tardiness, editorial oversight is minimal in what follows.

Friday’s contest was a really weird one because they fell into an early 0-2 hole and then immediately blasted themselves out of it before nearly giving it away late. Shota Imanaga settled in very nicely after those two quick tallies, allowing just four hits with eight strikeouts and two walks. He gave the Cubs six strong innings before turning it over to Nate Pearson for two frames of one-hit ball.

The 9th inning was an entirely different story as Craig Counsell had to use three different pitchers to escape with the lead intact. Tyson Miller was not nearly as sharp as he’s been most of the year, as a walk and two hits brought in one run and had Nationals at the corners. Drew Smyly came on and walked another to load the bases, then got a strikeout before giving up a two-run single.

Keegan Thompson came on for his second big league appearance in over two months and retired top prospect Dylan Crews on strikes to end the nail-biter.

Oh, I suppose I should probably talk about how the Cubs scored, huh? All of their seven tallies came in the second inning as 11 batters came to the plate against Washington starter Jake Irvin. The first four batters of the inning recorded hits, with Pete Crow-Armstrong driving in two runs on a deep double to right-center. He’s hitting everything hard regardless of pitch type or location.

Michael Busch broke through for another two-run double, then Cody Bellinger connected for a two-run blast to give the Cubs just enough to coast the rest of the way. They had six hits in the inning and seven in the first two frames, but collected just two more singles the rest of the way. Credit to Irvin for wearing that beating and continuing for nearly three more frames after that to keep his team in the game.

This one reminded me of the Brock Lesnar/Shane Carwin UFC fight from 2010, the one where Carwin was mauling his overhyped opponent to the point that the fight could have been stopped. But referee Josh Rosenthall allowed it to continue and Carwin punched himself out, opening the door for Lesnar to finish the match via submission with an arm-triangle choke. The difference is that the Cubs managed to hang on for the W. (Box score)

Key Moment

The 2nd inning.

Why the Cubs Won

The 2nd inning

Stats That Matter

• The Cubs managed to win despite 13 strikeouts and just three walks
• Bellinger now has 14 homers, five since his latest IL stint, and opting out is more likely every day
• The Cubs have now won 19 of Imanaga’s 25 starts
• Imanaga has walked only 23 batters this season

Bottom Line

This win was just a matter of treading water and keeping pace with the Braves and Mets, both of whom won last night as well. That means the Cubs’ postseason odds actually dropped from 3.9% to 3.6% and have remained under 4% for more than a week despite going 8-2 over their last 10 games. Just winning isn’t enough at this point.

On Deck

As much as I love the certainty of 1:20 games at Wrigley, it’s nice to get a mid-afternoon contest every now and again. Today’s start is at 3:05pm CT, perfect for getting a nap in prior and then still having unencumbered dinner and/or evening plans. Javier Assad will face former Cubs prospect DJ Herz, who faces his old team after going to Washington last year as part of the Jeimer Candelario trade.