The Cubs finish up their pre-Trade Deadline slate with a rather ho-hum loss to the Giants, who are now back to .500 and will have to make some big buy-sell decisions over the next two days.
The Cubs have no such decisions to make. They’re selling. The only questions are what kinds of returns they’ll get, and how deep the selling will go. Willson Contreras got hugs in the dugout after the game ended. That’s the vibe.
As for the game, itself, Adrian Sampson really wasn’t all that bad, but a badly-timed blooper turned what could’ve been a shutout performance into something that looked more pedestrian. The bullpen was clean after him, and although Erich Uelmen got into some trouble with some weeeeeeak HBPs, he also showed off a 96 mph sinker, a nasty slider, and a very useable changeup. I’ve seen him before, but I’m not sure I’ve seen him look that good. He’s A Guy. Already ready to label him.
On the offensive side, the Cubs didn’t do much. Most of that is a credit to Carlos Rodon and Giants pitching, but I also just think there’s a flatness there, knowing what’s coming this week.
Full box score.