Guess who’s back? After nearly ten months of recovery and setbacks from an injured elbow, Matt Garza returned to the mound Tuesday night and picked up right where he left off last July.
In his debut start of the season, Garza worked five scoreless innings, surrendering one hit and striking out five, while allowing three walks.
With an established pitch count of 85, Garza worked the count to 82 pitches following five innings, after which he was pulled for the game.
In addition, Garza was able to locate his off-speed pitches well, maintaining good control across both sides of the plate with his changeup and curveball.
Effective was Garza, as he did not surrender a single hit until the fifth-inning, when Clint Barmes singled to right field with one out. In the second inning, Garza even struck out the side, leaving Pedro Alvarez and Gaby Sanchez whiffing at an 86 MPH slider and a 93 MPH four-seam fastball, respectively.
Perhaps the highlight of the night came in the top of the second inning. With Wellington Castillo and Darwin Barney aboard, Garza ripped a liner to right field, scoring both runners and putting the Cubs ahead 3-0.
Garza’s performance is everything that the Chicago organization, its fans, and even Garza himself could have hoped for. While Garza could serve as a huge trading chip in the coming trade deadline, if tonight was a preview of things to come, the Cubs may have to reconsider moving Garza and keep him at the helm of a solid starting rotation.
Despite the strong effort by Garza, the Chicago bullpen would falter. The Pittsburgh offense would rebound with a five-run sixth-inning, led by a grand slam by pinch-hitter Travis Snider.
Pittsburgh closer Jason Grilli would enter the ninth-inning and surrender an RBI single to Starlin Castro, closing the gap 5-4. However, Grilli would strike out Anthony Rizzo, closing out the game for his 18th save of the season. With their 5-4 victory, the Pirates improve to 27-18 on the season and inch closer to the NL Central divisional lead.
