May 14: Pirates @ Cubs WPA Recap (Game 36)

Charts and data from Fangraphs

Cubs MVP: Alfonso Soriano (.133 WPA)
Soriano's two-out "double" in the first scored two runs and tied the game at 3. It would stand as the biggest hit of the game for the Cubs, worth .170 WPA.

Pirates MVP: Garrett Jones (.473 WPA)
Jones was a force at the plate today, compiling five hits and driving in five runs, including the go-ahead three run home run in the top of the eighth. Honorable mention has to go to Andrew McCutcheon, who reached base six times and hit a home run of his own. McCutcheon accumulated .371 WPA.

Cubs LVP: Carlos Zambrano (-.412 WPA)
This one's a no-brainer, as Zambrano surrendered the lead in the top of the 8th inning, giving up three runs on four hits.

Pirates LVP: Brian Burres (-.402 WPA)
Just over a week ago, Burres shut the Cubs out for seven innings in a winning effort in Pittsburgh. Today, he fared much worse, giving up five earned runs in four innings. The Cubs made solid contact throughout the day, including Marlon Byrd's solo home run in the fourth inning.

Biggest Hit of the Game
With two on and nobody out in the top of the eighth, Garrett Jones takes Big Z deep and gives the Pirates a late three run lead (.262 WPA).

Worst Out of the Game
After leading off the bottom of the sixth with a single, Mike Fontenot is picked off first base when fellow Cajun Ryan Theriot can't get a sac bunt down (-.084 WPA)

By looking at the graph above, it's easy to see that after a wild first inning, this was a game that was completely up for grabs until Zambrano's disastrous eighth. Gorzellany (-.216 WPA pitching) gave up three runs in the first, but when you're a starter you've got the opportunity to bounce back and try to redeem yourself. Bullpen pitchers don't have that luxury, and it's something Zambrano will probably learn pretty quickly when the newspapers call for his outright release tomorrow morning.

Updated Cubs WPA Game MVP Leaderboard: