👋 Good morning!
A night at the ballpark can offer such a great time.
I spent last night at Wrigley Field with fantastic company, an excellent Chicago-style hot dog, and unbeatable weather. Oh, and I almost forgot, a nine-spot by the visiting San Francisco Giants in the 11th inning.
Catastrophic half-innings hit like a freight train. Or, in White Sox 2B Chase Meidroth’s case, it can hit you in the glove and then bounce off the top of your head.
Tough night for Chicago baseball fans all around.
About Last Night
After a gritty small-ball comeback in the bottom of the ninth and a near walk-off in the 10th, everything fell apart for the Cubs and reliever Ryan Pressly, who allowed nine runs (eight earned) without recording an out.
Pressly, 36, entered the action on Tuesday night with a 2.08 ERA in 13 appearances this season. He hadn’t allowed an earned run in nine consecutive appearances dating back to March 29.
Once his line became final following his departure on Tuesday, his ERA had ballooned to a whopping 7.62.
One major problem area? His ability to miss bats. Pressly hasn’t had a K% lower than 20% since 2015, his third year in the league. After Tuesday night, Pressly is striking out just 8.1% of the batters he faces. Not great for any pitcher, let alone a closer.
Pressly took responsibility after the game: “I just didn’t get my job done. I was the only one tonight that didn’t do my job.”
I kind of feel for Pressly. The Cubs had their chances in the bottom of the ninth and 10th, and despite tying the ballgame late, those missed opportunities should’ve sent everybody home a bit earlier.
In that same breath, Pressly wasn’t the only one who failed to do their job on Tuesday night. Ian Happ, Seiya Suzuki, and Michael Busch—the Cubs’ one, three, and four hitters in the lineup—finished a combined 0-13 with eight strikeouts. Happ and Suzuki both struck out in the ninth.
I wouldn’t go as far as to say that this loss is on those guys, but Pressly also doesn’t need to shoulder complete blame for the result, either.
But Pressly’s struggles on Tuesday lead us to a larger and much more important question: Who’s this team’s closer moving forward?
The obvious answer is Porter Hodge, who was excellent in the 10th inning last night. He’s younger, his arm is livelier, and he’s missing bats, or at least inducing relatively weaker contact when he doesn’t.
As for Pressly, comfortable moments while he’s been on the mound, despite producing relatively OK results before tonight, have been few and far between.
At 22-15, things are still looking up for the Cubs. But after crawling back in the ninth, the ol’ nine-run 11th after a wasted opportunity in the 10th is going to feel like one that got away for a little bit.
Quick Hits
CASE OF THE DROPSIES: Oops. After a genuinely decent day in the field, all hell broke loose on the White Sox’s defense in the ninth inning, beginning with Chase Meidroth’s see-it-to-believe-it drop.
Here’s the deal: those moments happen. Meidroth is 23 years old. Odds are it’ll happen again at some point in his career. Face it and erase it. Wipe it from your memory completely.
There is no “learning moment” here. It’s not like Meidroth woke up yesterday thinking infield pop-ups are supposed to be caught with your head.
As for looking for a silver lining, White Sox starter Sean Burke hurled another strong outing. In two starts this month, Burke has allowed just one earned run in 12.1 IP.
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Great call, bearfan80
The @CHGO_Bears crew/promo code came in clutch again for another @shadyrays order. @AdamHoge @thecarm @GBraggsJr23 🕶️🐻⬇️
— #bearfan80 (#@bearfan80)
3:39 PM • May 6, 2025
Bet your sweet bippy that I was rocking my Shady Rays at Wrigley before the sun set last night.
Today!
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⚾️ Cubs vs. Giants
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⚾️ White Sox @ Royals
6:40 on CHSN
