MVP candidates Baez, Yelich on center stage
The top two candidates for the NL MVP award will have one more chance to decide a division championship.
Though baseball is a team game, eyes will be on Javy Baez and the Milwaukee Brewers’ Christian Yelich during Monday’s one-game playoff at Wrigley Field for the Central title. Baez has enjoyed a breakthrough year and will get his share of votes, but Yelich has become the favorite to win the MVP and still has a chance to capture the first NL Triple Crown since the Cardinals’ Joe “Ducky” Medwick in 1937.
“It’s been incredible. Getting traded to a new organization, contending for the first time and what he’s done has just been — it’s been fun to watch,” Anthony Rizzo said. “It’s one of those special runs. There’s been a few guys this year who have gone on special runs, and he’s one of them.”
As Rizzo alluded to, Yelich was acquired from the Marlins over the offseason for four prospects and has flourished in his first pennant race after languishing in Miami. Baez, who spent much of the season as the MVP favorite, said he’s aware of what Yelich is doing but wasn’t concerned about the race for the league’s top individual honor and seemed more interested in winning the division.
“Everybody keeps [telling] me about him. I don’t pay attention to it,” Baez said. “He’s a great hitter. He’s a great athlete. We’ll see what happens at the end.”
Q rating
Jose Quintana has another chance to justify the blockbuster trade that brought him to the Cubs last year. It could help that he’s throwing against the Brewers.
In six starts against them this year, Quintana is 4-1 with a 2.17 ERA. In 37„ innings facing the Brewers, Quintana has 33 strikeouts to just 10 walks against one of the National League’s best lineups.
And the Cubs are feeling good about seeing Quintana on the mound in Monday’s game. Kyle Schwarber said they’d feel that way regardless of who Quintana’s facing.
“It is what it is. One game. We all have confidence in Q. I don’t care what team’s out there,” Schwarber said. “Whenever Q toes the mound, it’s always a good day. Whenever he goes out there tomorrow for us and toes the rubber for us, we’re all going to be really confident right behind him.”
Yelich, who’s 1-for-11 against Quintana this year, said to reporters in Milwaukee “he’s pitched really well against us all year.”
“I’m sure they know that. We know that,” Yelich said. “It’s going to come down to execution like it has all year. It should be a fun one.”
No time left
Manager Joe Maddon has said repeatedly the Cubs will need Carl Edwards Jr. to get right if they’re going to do anything in October. Time’s up.
“I can’t deny that. I love the guy and he’s got great stuff. He’s just, for a lack of a better term, overthinking it,” Madon said of Edwards, who entered in the sixth and gave up a hit and a walk and threw a wild pitch. “He’s not letting it fly like he normally does. We’ve got to extract it from him mentally as soon as we can, and just go pitch and not worry about making mistakes.”