Cubs: 3 oddities from Friday’s series opener against the Cardinals

Cubs: Joc Pederson’s early aggression pays dividends

The first pitch of the game from Cardinals hurler Carlos Martinez was swung on by Joc Pederson and crushed into the right-center field bleachers. It was a high drive that just snuck over the wall to give the Cubs their first run of the ball game.

In the fifth, Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner’s opposite field double and a perfectly executed sacrifice bunt from pitcher Kyle Hendricks set the table for Pederson to get himself his second RBI of the ball game. Sure enough, Pederson took the first pitch Martinez served up to the deepest part of the ballpark for a sacrifice fly.

I like patient hitters who make the pitchers work a little bit but you cannot argue with the results of Pederson’s aggression as he was responsible for the Cubbies’ first two runs of the game. Not to mention how well he’s been swinging the bat since he returned to the lineup after a  nagging wrist injury sent him to the IL. Pederson sits at a very nice .262 average on the season and a .400 average since his return.