Last night at Wrigley Field was one of those unforgettable experiences. I was there with 30,000 other fans, and we got to witness something incredible—Shota Imanaga, Nate Pearson, and Porter Hodge teamed up to throw a no-hitter! It was the first one by a Chicago Cub at Wrigley since Milt Papas back in September of 1972, and the crowd was electric as the tension built with every pitch. On top of that, tomorrow the New York Yankees come to town with, former Cub, Anthony (Tony) Rizzo who will make his first appearance at Wrigley since 2021 when he was traded. So, today’s article will cover all the history from last night as well as preview Rizzo’s return.
First let’s look at all the no hitters that have been thrown by Cubs pitchers since 1972. All of them happened in the last 16 years:
- September 14, 2008 — Carlos Zambrano (vs. Houston Astros) Score: 5-0
This game was played at Miller Park due to Hurricane Ike - August 23, 2015 — Jake Arrieta (vs. Los Angeles Dodgers) Score: 2-0
- April 31, 2016 — Jake Arrieta (vs. Cincinnati Reds) Score: 16-0
- September 13, 2020 — Alec Mills (vs. Milwaukee Brewers) Score: 12-0
- June 24, 2021 — Zach Davies, Ryan Tepera, Andrew Chafin, and Craig Kimbrel (vs. Los Angeles Dodgers) Score: 4-0
Having the opportunity to witness the second ever combined no-hitter to be thrown by the Cubs (Source: ESPN) was nothing short of amazing, to say the least. But wait, there was some some other history that nearly took place versus the Pittsburgh Pirates last night. What’s the other history, you ask? There were not one but two Cubs in the lineup last night who had a chance to hit for the cycle for the first time since Mark Grace did back on May 9, 1993 versus the San Diego Padres. Yep, Dansby Swanson and Pete Crow-Armstrong. I encourage you to look at the box score over on Baseball Reference as evidence of that as well as how all the Cubs runs scored.
Let’s look forward to the weekend! Anthony Rizzo is the last Cubs World Champion to make a home coming after Jed Hoyer slowly but surely tore the team apart during and following the pandemic. Rizzo returned to the Yankees lineup on Sunday when they were hosting the St. Louis Cardinals after being out two and a half months with a fractured forearm after a collision at first base in a game against the Boston Red Sox. He’s played every game since returning and is 3-for-13. While his return will definitely be a story line to watch this weekend the story of free agent to be Juan Soto, might be even bigger and, is even more important to watch.
Before we discuss the Soto story let’s take a look at how this weekend can effect the NL Wild Card race. The Cubs are one game ahead of the Cardinals as well as four games behind the Mets and Braves for the third Wild Card spot. They need to keep pace and hope that both of those teams have their momentum spoiled by their opponents over the next three weeks. In order to keep pace they will need to win this series against the Yankees, if not even sweep them out of Chicago.
Now, let’s talk about Soto and his impending free agency. On Tuesday Matt Graves at Last World Sports wrote an article comparing the Shohei Ohtani sweepstakes of last year to the one coming this winter for Soto. However, it is not likely anything close to that happens for a few reasons including but not limited to the fact that, last I checked, Soto is not a two-way player. Another thing that will effect his big pay day this winter is the laundry list of injuries he’s had in his short time in the Majors. At the end of the day there are five teams who will be named most in the sweepstakes conversation this winter; they are the: Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants, and Chicago Cubs.
While many Cubs fans, including myself, and my fellow writer Gaurav Garg, believe that Tom Rickets is a cheapskate and believe there is no way the Cubs will chase Soto as a result. However, on Tuesday Tommy Erbe over at Sports Mockery wrote a nice article talking about the Competitive Balance Tax.
In his article he mentioned that Jed has confirmed the Cubs will for sure be over the tax this season and he expects to be over again next year. I’ve heard many other reporters and analysts who are better known saying the same thing over the last few weeks. Those better known reporters and analysts have also said there is no way the Cubs do not talk with Soto and try to sell him on coming to Chicago because they would then turn around and trade Ian Happ who has two years left on his contract after this season.
Here’s the thing folks: Of course I’d love to see Soto play the rest of his career in a Cubs uniform after this season. However, we have to be realistic here he is going to take the best and longest term deal he is offered. That said, I’d be surprised and overly joyed at the same time if Jed Hoyer is able to sell him on coming to Chicago this winter.
With that… it is time to focus on the weekend set, the Cubs playoff hopes, and Tony’s return to Wrigley.
If you cannot play with them, then root for them.