It didn’t quite happen the way the Chicago Cubs wanted, but they clinched the National League Central title Thursday, backing into it despite their loss to Milwaukee. They had to wait 90 minutes until the St. Louis Cardinals also lost just before midnight. With the exception of the 1918 season, which was cut short by World War I and ended on Labor Day, Sept. 15 is the earliest date on which the Cubs have clinched either the division or the National League pennant since 1880. On Sept. 15 of that year, their 5-2 win at Cincinnati, coupled with a Providence Grays loss, put them 14 ahead in the wins column with 13 games to play.
Dexter Fowler started two of this week's games by touching third base; his triple on Friday went for naught after two succeeding batters struck out, but his Tuesday homer allowed him to continue and touch the plate as well. Fowler has 17 leadoff extra-base hits this season, one shy of Jean Segura for the major league lead and the most by a Cubs player since Alfonso Soriano had 21 in 2007. Fowler, however, has varied his hits nicely. This week made him the first player in Cubs history with seven leadoff homers and two leadoff triples in one season. (Rick Monday was the last to have seasons with both achievements, but he had the homers in 1976 and the triples in 1973.)
Anthony Rizzo's two-homer game Wednesday was the 13th of his career, easily the most on the team since his debut in 2011 (Kris Bryant has seven). Rizzo already has the third-most multihomer games by a Cubs player of his age (27 years, 39 days as of Friday); Ron Santo had 14, and Rizzo would need two more before the regular season ends to tie Sammy Sosa's mark of 15.
Jon Lester had two scoreless outings since our last post, throwing seven innings on Friday and eight on Wednesday with only one walk between them. Although he hasn't won them all, that makes nine consecutive starts in which Lester has allowed two or fewer runs and issued two or fewer walks. He joins Jake Arrieta (nine games last year plus Opening Day this year) as the only Cubs players in the live ball era to do that in nine straight starts; the last before them was Grover Cleveland Alexander in 1919.
As impressive as Lester's week was, Kyle Hendricks stole the show by taking a no-hit bid into the ninth inning Monday. The year's only no-hitter (so far) was by Arrieta in April. There's been only one season in major league history with multiple no-hitters, all by the same team. That was in 1904 by the Red Sox, then called the Boston Americans.
Jeremy Hazelbaker played spoiler, sending the third pitch of the ninth inning into the seats for the Cardinals' only hit. St. Louis has had two games in the live ball era in which its only hit was a homer; George Hendrick broke up Mario Soto's bid in the ninth inning at Cincinnati on May 12, 1984. As mentioned on the broadcast, the only Cubs pitcher to no-hit the Cardinals was Don Cardwell on May 15, 1960. The best note that we didn't get to use: Hendricks and Cardwell share the same birthday, Dec. 7.
