Chicago Cubs: Takeaways from the team’s Opening Night loss

A walk-off loss to the St. Louis Cardinals isn’t how the Chicago Cubs envisioned their return to the diamond as World Champions. Still, there’s a lot we can learn from Sunday’s NL Central showdown.

For much of the evening, it was the Carlos Martinez show. The hard-throwing right-hander dominated the Chicago Cubs’ lineup top-to-bottom. The only possible exclusion to that rule came in the form of leadoff man Kyle Schwarber.

Jon Lester gutted his way through a start that seemed to expose some unfamiliarity with his new receiver, Willson Contreras. As the two become more familiar, it’s likely we see more fluidity, but the first time out was rocky, at times.

One of the question marks for Joe Maddon‘s club is the relief corps. Given the fashion in which the Cubs lost the season opener, you can expect the doubters to come clamoring out of the woodwork.

The product on the field was not what we saw last October. The defense made a few questionable plays and the offense hadn’t looked that poor since the NLDS last postseason.

The simple takeaway is this: it was one game – so don’t put too much stock into what happened. That being said, here are some takeaways from the season opener.

Free-swinging offense musters little in opener

Take away the ninth-inning blast from Contreras and this game leaves a very different taste in your mouth.

St. Louis starter Carlos Martinez was lights-out from the word ‘go.’ He struck out 10, pitching into the eighth before giving way to the bullpen. He mixed speeds, changed the eye level of his opponents and had his way with the powerful Cubs’ offense. Still, the trends we saw Sunday night can’t – and won’t – continue over the course of a season.

For starters, Chicago struck out a dozen times without drawing a single walk. Last season, the Cubs drew 656 base-on-balls, most in the big leagues. In the opener, the free-swinging tendencies once again took center stage, allowing the Cardinals to never face pressure.

Kris Bryant struck out three times, going 0-for-4 on the night. Time and time again, St. Louis blew fastballs past him at eye-level, enticing the reigning NL MVP to chase out of the zone. Plate discipline will make or break this entire team’s offense – so expect changes to be made quickly.

By contrast, St. Louis drew eight walks on the night. It seemed like Jon Lester tiptoed his way out of trouble in almost every inning – and the relievers did themselves no favors with the combined six walks they allowed, either.

Aside from Grichuk, clutch hits few-and-far-between

St. Louis outfielder Randal Grichuk ended the night with a pair of hits and three RBI, including the game-winner in the bottom of the ninth.

Chicago Cubs

The image of Grichuk racing to first with his fist raised in triumph is what will stick in the minds of Cubs’ fans – and probably Cardinals Nation, as well. But that image certainly doesn’t encapsulate the performance we saw from either team Sunday night.

Despite winning 4-3, the Cardinals went 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position – with the lone knock coming in the form of Grichuk’s ninth-inning single. The big hit seemingly evaded St. Louis the entire night – unless Grichuk was at the plate.

His other two RBI came in the form of an opposite-field, two-run blast that, at the time, appeared to be the proverbial nail in the coffin. In the other dugout, the visiting Cubs couldn’t have felt a whole lot better.

Timely hits evade both teams

Chicago went 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position, thanks to Contreras’ game-tying home run in the top of the ninth. The Cubs enjoyed a one-out, bases-loaded situation in the eighth that quickly got away from them.

Give some credit to Carlos Martinez and Jon Lester. Each did their job – and did it well. But these two clubs are too good to combine for a .118 mark with runners in scoring position.