2023 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 19

Nothing like a little afternoon baseball on in the background while you are finishing your work day. By the time I got off of an afternoon call, the Cubs were already battering Dodgers starter Julio Urias. I tuned in just in time for the top of the third, as Drew Smyly was recording his fifth and sixth consecutive strikeouts. Sometimes you just know when you tune in. There was something in Jim Deshaies’ voice and I knew Smyly was sharp.

I saw Cody Bellinger and Troy Mancini go back to back. You could have offered me pretty strong favorable odds that the Cubs would win consecutive games started by Urias and I’d never take the bet. Through three, the Cubs had two doubles, a triple and two…