Fly the T: 8th inning fireworks lead to fun Cactus League finale |
PEORIA - Although the first Spring under Craig Counsell was filled with plenty of ups and downs, his first Spring has gone down as a success. Entering Sunday's Cactus League finale with a 16-13-2 record, the Cubs were guaranteed a winning record for the first time in a few years.
Even though Cactus play officially ended on Sunday, the Cubs still have two more exhibition games with the St. Louis Cardinals on the schedule, along with looking to take care of business against the Seattle Mariners. As was the case most of the Spring, the Cubs' offense delivered in a big way, which is a big reason why they ranked near the top of the Cactus League standings offensively. Even when the team gets off to a slow start, it finds ways to battle back. The Cubs offense erupted for six runs in the eighth inning to seize control late. Unfortunately, their bullpen wasn't able to hold that lead, as the Mariners rallied for four runs of their own in the eighth, which led to 9-9, which ended up being the final score. Kyle Hendricks made his final tuneup of the spring, as he needed to have a great outing. Hendricks is no stranger to struggling during Spring, as he tends to use this time to work on a few things he may not use during the regular season. With this being his last tuneup until the regular season, Hendricks was ok as he pitched into the fourth, allowing two runs and striking out three. He matched Logan Gilbert, who pitched into the fifth for Seattle, allowing two runs but striking out seven. Kyle Hendricks assesses his final spring start: pic.twitter.com/yNvY9ww19K Even though both teams failed to score after putting baserunners on in the first, Seattle struck first, as the Josh Rojas single gave the Mariners a 1-0 lead after two. That lead didn't last long, with Garrett Cooper unloading for a two-out solo blast in the top of the third to tie things up, as that was his third homer of the spring. Garrett Cooper's solo home run ties us up! pic.twitter.com/R4AjnhXy4F This comes from a guy who signed a minor league deal in March and has been told he will make the team out of camp. Like in the second inning, when the Mariners scored first, both teams failed to add on in their next few plate appearances, although Mitch Haniger did take Hendricks deep to put the Mariners back in front 2-1 in the fourth, which was the end of the road for the right-hander. Porter Hodge came on to finish off the inning, but the damage was already done with the Cubs down 2-1. Once again, the Cubs wasted no time responding from another deficit as Michael Busch played long ball for the third time this Spring to bring things back to even 2-2. Michael Busch BLASTS a home run to center! 💥 That was followed by a Cooper double and the David Peralta single, and just like that, it was the Cubs back in front 3-2, which marked the end of Gilbert's day. In what was now a battle of the bullpens, Hodge struggled with his command throughout the fifth, which put him in some very tight situations. Despite striking out two of the first three hitters he faced in the fifth, Hodge also walked the bases loaded as he was struggling to find it. Those struggles loomed large, with Luke Raley clearing the bases with a double to put the Mariners back in front 5-3. Those were the final runs for the next few innings as Julian Merryweather and Luke Little came in to do their job when Counsell needed them the most. Still trailing by two in the eighth, the Cubs started to make some changes to their lineup, and that seems to have been all it took to get the offense back on track. All it took was a Joe Hudson single to start things off before he raced around to score on the Miguel Amaya double to pull the Cubs within 5-4. Another double off the bat of Jonathan Long brought home the tying run, with Scott McKeon picking up a single to put runners on the corners. The big blow of the inning came from the Canadian Crusher as Owen Caissie capped off a massive spring showing with another long-ball, and the three-run blast saw the Cubs retake the lead 8-5. Owen Caissie breaks the tie with a 3-run HR! pic.twitter.com/EBjAweXzWf Doubles from Luis Vazquez and Darius Hill followed that up with Hill capping off the Cubs six-run inning with Chicago leading 9-5. Given how much of the spring has gone for this team, you had to feel confident with the Cubs leading by four this late in the game. That was until Edwin Escobar entered the game and promptly walked the first two men he faced before allowing a Bill Knight double that saw Seattle pull within 9-7. One batter later, Schreck picked the perfect time to belt his first homer of the Spring as his two-run blast tied things up 9-9. Sam McWilliams came from there to finish things off as the Cubs had one last chance to win this game. That chance came in their half of the ninth where patience was a virtue early on. Ben Onyshko walked both Hudson and Long, while the Casey Opitz single in between saw the Cubs with the bases loaded and no outs. Needing just a fly ball to get the job done, Onyshko struck out the next two hitters he faced before escaping the inning with a pop fly as the pressure was now on McWilliams to preserve the tie. He did just that, working around a ninth inning single to seal the deal as the Cubs cap off Cactus League play with a 9-9 tie.
We're tied again! pic.twitter.com/hVBnYfF3P6
