History Ends in the Seventh
Michael Busch delivered the only hit the Chicago Cubs could muster, snapping Cade Cavalli’s no-hit bid in the seventh inning. Despite the historic moment for the Washington pitcher, the Nationals offense exploded for a 7-0 victory to close out the three-game set. Chicago’s road trip through Kansas City and the nation’s capital ended poorly as they dropped to a 4-2 record. Cavalli retired the first 20 batters he faced before Busch’s bloop single to left field finally broke the silence.
This game felt like a trap for the Cubs, who had been on a significant offensive roll entering the matchup. They found themselves completely stymied by a hot pitcher and an aggressive Nationals lineup that refused to let them back into the contest. The final score of 7-0 tells the whole story of a team that simply could not get anything going against a dominant performance on the mound.
Gausman Crashes in the Fifth
Chicago starter Kevin Gausman ran into severe trouble in his second outing with the new team, surrendering a five-run fifth inning that effectively ended any chance of a comeback. He started strong, retiring the first 10 batters he faced, but the wheels came off completely when he backed off his signature splitter in the fifth frame. Gausman leaned heavily on that pitch, using it 55.7% of the time in the first four frames, but he did not rely on it enough when the inning spiraled out of control.
The damage began with Jorbit Vivas drawing a walk and Andrés Chaparro hitting a single to open the inning. Those two baserunners paved the way for a sacrifice fly by Andrew Pinckney, a three-run homer by Abimelec Ortiz, and an RBI single from Daylen Lile. Gausman toiled through 30 pitches just to face those eight batters in the fifth alone, walking off the field after throwing 93 pitches total with 64 strikes in 4 2/3 innings.
Despite striking out seven and issuing just one walk, the righty could not prevent the game from slipping out of reach. This was Gausman’s second outing for the North Siders since arriving in a blockbuster trade with the Blue Jays. During his Cubs debut on Friday in Kansas City, he deployed his splitter 53 times.1% of the time in a strong seven-inning performance, but that consistency vanished on Thursday.
The Cost of a Perfect Start
Cade Cavalli cruised through the Cubs lineup, retiring the first 15 hitters in order before his perfect game bid ended on a walk to Dansby Swanson leading off the sixth. Cavalli recorded his seventh strikeout when Miguel Amaya struck out and Michael Conforto grounded into a double play, allowing the no-hitter to endure six full innings despite the perfect game vanishing. The Cubs offense, which had been rolling recently, found this performance especially disappointing yet failed to solve the Nationals pitcher.
It took until two outs in the seventh for the no-hit bid to be officially broken up by Busch’s flare single. This solitary hit marked the second time this year the team was one-hit, the previous instance occurring against the Braves on May 12. The game began quietly with both pitchers retiring the first nine hitters they faced, but the Nationals exploded for runs while the Cubs went silent.
Gausman now holds one good and one not-so-good start as a Cub, with his next scheduled outing set for next Tuesday at Wrigley Field versus the White Sox. The team will now look to reset before facing the Cardinals this weekend to start a new series.
