Another Cubs win, another round of 'MVP' chants for Rizzo and Bryant
Chants of “MVP” for Anthony Rizzo.
Chance of MVP for Rizzo.
Chants of “MVP” for Kris Bryant.
Chance of MVP for Bryant.
As the Cubs continue what looks to be an inexorable march toward a division title in the National League Central, one of the most fascinating subplots involves two of their young stars possibly being 1-2 in the race for the Most Valuable Player Award.
Rizzo has heard the chants at Wrigley Field in recent weeks.
In Thursday's 9-6 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers at Wrigley Field, it was Bryant's day to throw his baseball cap into the ring in a serious way.
The 24-year-old Bryant had quite the day, going 5-for-5 with 2 home runs, a double, 4 runs scored and 5 RBI.
That helped the Cubs to a sweep of the four-game series against the Brewers and improve their season record to 77-43.
Here is what we're looking at:
Bryant has a line of .296/.392/.564 with 30 home runs and 78 RBI. On Thursday, he became the fifth Cubs player to reach 30 homers in his age-24 season or younger, joining Ernie Banks, Ron Santo, Sammy Sosa and Rizzo.
Rizzo is at .291/.395/.566 with 25 homers and 86 RBI.
It's hard to split 'em. And that seems OK with those involved.
“Yeah, it feels great,” Bryant said. “I think - really, honestly - it's just about us pushing each other and really expecting more out of one another. I like to joke around with him a lot. But at the same time, if he's ever down or says something that I don't want to hear, I let him know that, 'No, don't think that way.' He does the same for me, and I just think that kind of relationship has kind of gotten us to the type of seasons we've had so far.”
Rizzo concurred.
“It'll be fun,” he said. “It's going to be what it is. We've obviously put ourselves in a good position to have that chatter, but we still have to go out and play every day and do what we do.”
The overall dynamic between the two is something special.
“It's good, it's good to have, it's good for the fans,” Rizzo said. “It's good for both of us. It makes me better. Hopefully I make Kris better. It's also a lot of fun to watch.”
The Cubs jumped on Brewers starting pitcher Zach Davies with 2 runs in the first. They went up 5-0 in the third, with 2 coming in on Bryant's homer. His 30th of the season came in the sixth, a solo shot.
“It was one of those days that kind of went by too quick,” Bryant said. “You really have to enjoy a 5-for-5 day. They don't really happen too much.”
The offensive output made a winner out of Jake Arrieta, who improved to 15-5 with a 2.75 ERA on a day when he had good stuff but was without his command. Arrieta walked a career-high 7 and threw 103 pitches in 5⅔ innings.
He also knows something about awards, having won the Cy Young last year. So he sees something special in Thursday's hero, Bryant.
“I told a lot of people when I was asked about him when he was coming up into the league,” Arrieta said. “Guys asked, 'What have you got on this guy?' I told them he's going to be one of the top five hitters in the game the day he makes his debut. I think that's pretty accurate.
“He's a great player. He's been able to play a lot of different roles, especially defensively, for us. Very versatile. He's one of our biggest role players. To see him do what he has continued to do and do what he did today, it's not a big surprise. Rizzo's a tremendous player. He's pretty much our MVP just about ever year. But Kris is a very special guy.”