The return of baseball after the All-Star break is finally here, and the Cubs were unable to meet the line against the Twins. Colin Rea took the mound for the Cubs and posted an excellent six inning outing with six strikeouts and only three earned runs. He gave the Cubs every chance to win. Dansby Swanson took a ball to the face for nothing. Unfortunately for Swanson and the Cubs, that's just baseball sometimes.
The Cubs just couldn't figure out Twins pitcher Bailey Ober. Even though he pitched less inning than Rea, he was more effective, collecting more strikeouts and allowing fewer earned runs. The Cubs just managed to get six hits the entire game. It was a rare day of silence from Pete Crow-Armstrong, who still made it to base on a walk, and then scored.
For once, pitching wasn't the problem
It must have been very nice for Craig Counsell to have a full arsenal of pitchers and not have to worry about whose arm hadn't fallen off yet. But the first day after the break and everyone not on the IL should be available and rested to throw. It's a luxury rarely seen in baseball.
The full availability meant that Counsell didn't have to piece the game together with an avocado and a paper clip like he normally does, and he only used four pitchers total, same as the Twins. With the Cubs hosting the Twins for two more outings this weekend, the Cubs could still pull out the series win.
One loss shouldn't effect the outcome too greatly, but those are the sort of games that the Cubs need to win should they ever catch the Brewers. It's very telling when the first opportunity after the break rolls around, the Brewers get a win and the Cubs take home a loss. It's symbolic of this whole season since the Cubs relinquished control, and it's going to take better showings than that to take the NL Central back.
Losing behind a quality pitching performance is frustrating, but it doesn't erase the positives the Cubs can take from Friday's opener. Now they simply need the offense to match that level the rest of the weekend.
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