There’s something magical going on on Chicago’s North Side. The Chicago Cubs raced to a 24-6 season-opening a record following a four-game sweep of the Washington Nationals. The sweep was in doubt at times during Sunday’s tense, 13-inning game, but yet another hero emerged to rescue the Cubs. There was nobody left on the bench when Javier Baez won the game with a solo home run in the bottom of the 13th inning. Reigning Cy Young Award winner Jake Arrieta allowed three runs, raising his minuscule earned-run average (ERA) from 0.84 to 1.13, but that was all the Nationals got against the National League’s best pitching staff. With the sweep, Chicago pulled even further away from the rest of the NL. The only other team in baseball that’s even close is their crosstown rival, the Chicago White Sox.
