Morning Marquee: Kris Bryant sets another franchise rookie record
While Jake Arrieta cruised to his 20th win by throwing a three-hit complete game shutout of the last-place Milwaukee Brewers, rookie slugger Kris Bryant passed Chicago Cubs legend Billy Williams for the second time in as many months.
Back in August, Bryant set the franchise rookie record for runs batted in and came through with a two-run shot during the bottom half of the third inning which gave Arrieta a two-run lead.
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Williams set both records back in 1961 where he finished the campaign with 25 homers, seven triples, 20 doubles, 86 RBI and 147 hits while slashing .278/.338/.484.
The then 23-year-old outfielder was third on the team in home runs and second with RBI, trailing both Ernie Banks (29) and right fielder George Altman (96) in each category.
Now, not only did Bryant break another record that was set by Williams, but he is only two base knocks away from reaching 100 RBI. That stat could cement the N.L. Rookie of the Year award for the 23-year-old with only 12 games left in the regular season.
Chicago’s series-clinching win against the Brewers last night was the club’s third in a row and just so happened to drop their magic number down from four to three.
There’s a possibility they could clinch a playoff berth tomorrow, but they would need some help from other teams in the National League.
Young right-hander Kyle Hendricks will be on the mound for the Cubs today with the opportunity of locking up their 90th win of the season. Joe Maddon‘s group of determined Cubbies want to pick up that three-game sweep with Pittsburgh coming into town to begin a weekend series this Friday afternoon.
The Pirates defeated the Colorado Rockies by the final score of 6-3 last night while the St. Louis Cardinals plated three unanswered runs to drop the Reds by the final score of 3-1 at Busch Stadium.
Still, the Cubs, Pirates, and Cardinals lead the majors in wins proving that the N.L. Central is, in fact, the toughest division in the entire league this season and possibly for years to come.
Here’s more from around the league:
‘Chicago Cubs: It’s time to stop having concerts at Wrigley‘ – Cubbies Crib
‘Chicago Cubs: How in the world did Jon Lieber win 20 games?‘ – Cubbies Crib
‘Dodgers 0 Diamondbacks 8: Try the other outcome, maybe?‘ – Dodgers Way
‘Colorado Rockies, Chris Rusin beat 6-3 by Pittsburgh Pirates‘ – Rox Pile
‘Pittsburgh Pirates defeat Colorado Rockies 6-3‘ – Rum Bunter