2 For 2 So Far In Cubs Predictions. Game 3 Was Difficult.
I'm not one to gloat, and frankly I'm glad that my perception of how the first 2 Divisional Series Games between the Cubs and Giants has born out. If nothing, it might give me hope that after 45 years of following baseball I might finally be starting to understand this game.
But this next game; Game 3? Boy I don't have a solid feeling either way. That's because both of these pitchers in this game are the same. Madison Bumgarner has proven to be unstoppable in the post-season over the last 5 years. Just as Jake Arrieta will probably prove to be that kind of pitcher over the next 5. Where each of them land in this game will go a long way in determining the playoffs in the next 3 or 4 seasons potentially.
And it says a lot that with as strong as the batting lineups are, it still comes down to these two pitchers to lose this game. Make a mistake, have an off night, and you just handed the game (and possibly the series) to the other team.
So here it comes. If Bumgarner holds to his standard of pitching in these kinds of games, he will out-stat Arrieta. Maybe, maybe they each allow a run somewhere. But this one is coming down to the Bullpen. Both pitchers will be substituted on the offensive side of the ball, rather than because on-mound trouble or pitch count. But I gotta go against the conventional home-field advantage that is usually prescribed in this game, and say it's the Cubs squeaking by with the game, and the series, 3-2 in the 11th.