Kris continues to crush it vs. Reds
It turns out that Kris Bryant, the 2015 National League Rookie of the Year and 2016 NL Most Valuable Player, is pretty good with a baseball bat in his hands. Who knew? Bryant rolled into the gameMonday against the Reds, the opener of a fourgame series and a sevengame homestand, after an off- the- charts weekend in Arizona. In three games against the Diamondbacks, the third baseman reached base 13 times in 15 plate appearances and had backtoback- to- back three- hit outings.
What happened in the Cubs’ 15- 5 victory against theReds? More of the same. Bryant ripped a double off the left- field wall in his first at- bat, homered to left in his third and walked in his fourth before IanHapp pinch- hit for him in the eighth inning.
‘‘ He’s just looking more like KB,’’ manager Joe Maddon said. ‘‘ That’s the best way to describe it.’’
There’s a bit more to it than that, of course. Bryant is lifting the ball again— a sight for sore eyes for Cubs fans— after struggling in that department for weeks as he dealt with soreness in his hand. When the angle of Bryant’s swing is locked in, big things tend to happen.
Think the Cubs, embroiled in a tight division race, could use a hot finish from their best player? No need to answer that one.
The blame game
General manager Jed Hoyer didn’t quite take the bait when asked about Maddon’s performance this season.
‘‘ From top to bottom, we haven’t had the same type of year as last year or even the year before,’’ Hoyer said. ‘‘ I think that assessment is on everybody. I wouldn’t single anything out about Joe that he hasn’t done.’’
Hoyer included himself and president Theo Epstein in his criticism of a team that, 4 ½ months into the season, has yet to find its mojo.
‘‘ We haven’t played as well, we haven’t been as sharp, and that’s something we have to find,’’ he said. ‘‘ But the good thing is, we still have [ 45] games left to find it.’’
Pain in the neck
The Cubs scratched Ben Zobrist from the lineup shortly before the start of the game, putting Tommy La Stella in his place at second base.
The reason? A familiar foe: a stiff neck.
The 36- year- old Zobrist had a run- in with neck stiffness back in spring training. He missed games with stiffness in his neck earlier in his career, before joining the Cubs.
This hardly is a regular thing with Zobrist, but it’s certainly something to monitor.