Cubs overcome soggy weather to top Blue Jays |
CHICAGO - In what was a strange afternoon at Wrigley Field weather-wise on Saturday, the Chicago Cubs (61-63) and Toronto Blue Jays (57-66) still had a game to be played. At this point in the season, knowing the type of schedule the Cubs are up against, it's all about a one-game-at-a-time focus and trying to chip away at the teams in front of them.
You have seen that recently, the Cubs have climbed from last place in the Central to second, but there is still a lot of work that needs to be done for this team to sneak into the playoffs. With on-and-off rain showers forcing the Cubs to take a more bullpen approach, the Cubs found a way to get it done as they took down the Blue Jays 3-2. Coming into this series, this was the one game where you could make the case of being a coin flip game. On the one hand, you had Chris Bassitt going through a horrible season, but he has been known to pitch well against the Cubs. The other hand had Justin Steele, who has yet to be himself this season but continues to give the Cubs quality outings on the field. This was one of those games where the constant starting and stopping is difficult for a starting pitcher to get comfortable with, as Steele only went two innings before handing things over to the pen. He walked one and struck out three as he was off to a great start. Bassitt was coming off arguably the worst start of his career. Knowing that things couldn't get much worse than that, Bassitt tried to relax and pitch to his abilities, but with Ian Happ jumping on a fastball and riding it out for a leadoff homer, it was the Cubs taking a 1-0 lead. one pitch is all it takes...🎶#YouHaveToSeeIt | @ihapp_1 pic.twitter.com/RLdnxODmRI As frustrating as it is that this offense has been inconsistent, this is a team built around streaky hitters, and Happ is one of them, as he is starting to catch fire at the plate again. Ian Happ now has 7 homers in the 1st inning out of the leadoff spot. Part of the reason why Bassitt struggled so much in his last outing was a lack of command. After walking Seiya Suzuki and Cody Bellinger, his command was off again, but he did find a way to escape the first without further damage. Pitching with the lead has never been an issue for Steele, but seeing him come out in the second was a concern, only to find out the weather had something to do with it. He gave way to the former Toronto Blue Jay Nate Pearson, acquired from the Blue Jays in July. Pearson had a great third inning after taking over for Steele, but in the fourth, he ran into a bunch of trouble as the Vladimir Guerrero JR double to lead things off set the Blue Jays offense up before a pair of walks loaded the bases with one out. Pearson managed to escape without any damage, as this was a critical moment in the game. Following his rough start to the game, Bassitt did manage to settle and retired eight straight Cubs hitters at one point. Then came the fifth inning when the Cubs offense jumped on Bassitt, with Dansby Swanson and Pete Crow-Armstrong picking up a pair of singles to put a pair of runners on base. With the Cubs on the verge of wasting the scoring opportunity with the next two hitters being retired, the rookie Michael Busch cashing in as his RBI triple gave the Cubs a 3-0 lead and proved to be the winning hit. Triple the fun for Michael Busch! With Pearson out of the game after two innings, it was time for Craig Counsell to piece together the rest of his day as Tyson Miller and Julian Merryweather tossed a pair of scoreless innings before Drew Smyly and the back of the Cubs pen took over. For the most part, Smyly has been one of the more consistent relievers for the Cubs this season, but with three singles to the first four hitters he faced, including a bunt single from Daulton Varsho to put the Blue Jays on the board, it was evident that this wasn't his day as he gave way to Porter Hodge. One of the many surprises in the Cubs pen this season, Hodge had to battle through some command issues in this outing, but after allowing no runs in 1 2/3, he continues to earn the trust of Counsell as the Cubs held a 3-1 lead entering the ninth. With Hector Neris blowing another save on Friday, many fans were wondering whether or not they would see him in the game on Saturday, let alone making another save opportunity the rest of the way. While the rest of the season is still up in the air, it was an easy choice on Saturday as Jorge Lopez was summoned to pitch the ninth with a chance to convert his first save as a Cub. Since being acquired mid-season, Lopez has been about as dominant as you can be, entering the game with a 0.53 ERA and looking like a player who could close more games the rest of the way. However, looking like a closer and being a closer are too different things, as the pressure of the ninth inning is challenging. You saw that three pitches into his outing as Addison Barger got into one and drove it over the fence for his third homer of the season to pull the Blue Jays within 3-2. At that moment, Lopez proved he had the stones to handle ninth-inning duties as he went on to strike out the next three hitters he faced to pick up the save and gave the Cubs a series-clinching win 3-2. Jorge López strikes out 3 in the 9th to get the save! pic.twitter.com/YVsizdpIWi The Cubs were outhit 7-5 in the game, with Dansby Swanson leading the way with two hits. Chicago will go for the Sweep on Sunday when they send their all-star Shota Imanaga to the mound against Bowden Francis. Series win ✅ "He's a talented young player and he's performing at a really high level." "Hey, you go, we go."
Ranks behind Soriano, Fowler, Monday and McRae in Cubs history since 1974 pic.twitter.com/br391RWJ11
3-0 Cubbies 🙌 pic.twitter.com/lLoDDukTSi
Busch: 3B, 2 RBI
Happ: HR, RBI, R
Cubs: 10th win in the last 15 games pic.twitter.com/4F1Q7ZrL2y
Porter Hodge has a 1.69 ERA over his last 10 outings. pic.twitter.com/q52iaQT1MX
Dexter Fowler after Ian Happ's 2nd leadoff home run of the season! pic.twitter.com/XM9LCcf6Lf
