I could have called this one three down, one up. The Cubs lost their first three games this year to the Orioles, a fringe playoff contender. Of course, at the time those three games were played, I might say a peripheral playoff contender. The Orioles were 7-14 at the end of April, two under .500 for the month of May and two over for the month of June. Since then they’ve been 26-15 (including Thursday’s game) in July and August to become a contender. This is a pretty solid win, all things considered, for the Cubs.
Also, Adrian Sampson entered this start 0-3.