Suzuki walks it off in extras over Blue Jays |
CHICAGO - There have been a lot of disappointing teams in the MLB this season, with the Chicago Cubs (60-63) being one of them, but no one has been as disappointing as the Toronto Blue Jays (57-65) this season. An annual playoff team for five of the past six seasons, the Blue Jays have struggled this season and are starting to enter what some would call the rebuilding phase.
With the next 18 games coming against teams with a losing record, it is now or never if the Cubs want to make the postseason, which started Friday afternoon at Wrigley Field. Despite the Cubs connecting for four homers and taking a 5-2 lead into the ninth inning, it was another Hector Neris showing that continues to make Cubs fans frustrated. Neris allowed three runs on four hits as the Cubs desperate need for a closer is becoming more apparent by the day. His struggles led to the Blue Jays tying things up and helped send the game into extras. However, the Cubs got the last laugh as Seiya Suzuki came through with a walk-off single in the bottom of the 10th to lift the Cubs to a 6-5 win. After missing his last start against the Guardians, Kyle Hendricks took the ball Friday and delivered a solid outing for the Cubs. Hendricks gave the Cubs five innings of work on the mound, allowing two runs and striking out two before handing things off to the best pen in the game over the past month. “We know exactly where we’re at and it’s been that way for a while. It’s the opportunity that’s in front of us,” Hendricks said. “Today, it doesn’t matter how it looks, how we get it done. A win’s a win.” Hendricks was given plenty of support on the mound, and that all started with the Cubs first at-bats of the game. It all started with a leadoff double from Ian Happ to set the Cubs offense up as Cody Bellinger connected for the first of four Cubs homers to put Chicago in front 2-0. Belli for ✌️❗️ pic.twitter.com/dcn3fKAJ6T This has been a rough season overall for Bellinger, but he has been playing much better since returning from the IL, and if the Cubs want to make the playoffs, they need his bat to deliver more consistently. Hendricks ran into a bit of trouble in the second inning, allowing a pair of two-out singles to Will Wagner and Ernie Clement, but the right-hander managed to pitch out of trouble with the Cubs holding their 2-0 lead. Following the Cubs fast start, Yariel Rodriguez began to settle in on the mound as he kept the Cubs off the board the next four innings, allowing minimal traffic to give the Toronto offense a chance. That almost proved costly for the Cubs as the Blue Jays began to battle back in the fourth as the Clement infield single cut the Cubs deficit in half and made this a 2-1 game. One inning later, and it was the Blue Jays turn to play long ball as Leo Jimenez opened up the top half of the fifth with a homer to pull the Blue Jays even 2-2. Despite the Cubs overall lack of power this season, this is summer time at Wrigely and that means the wind will be blowing out leading to plenty of big offensive showings. The Cubs took that to heart against the Blue Jays as Pete Crow-Armstrong and Miguel Amaya connected for back-to-back homers off of Rodriguez in the fifth, and Chicago went back in front 4-2. Pete Crow-Armstrong - Chicago Cubs (5) Amaya fan of back-to-back homers? Given how well the Cubs pen has pitched the past month, you had to think four runs would be enough as Drew Smyly struck out the side in the sixth before Jorge Lopez and Porter Hodge each worked a scoreless inning after that. Looking to add on late, it was Happ coming through with his longest homer in five seasons off of former Cub Brendon Little as he waited back on a curve ball and destroyed it 473 feet to give the Cubs a 5-2 lead. .@ihapp_1 dinger with @StephenAtHome on the mic 🎙️! pic.twitter.com/CmVU0DYojQ Holding that lead entering the ninth, more often than not, you would feel confident that this team will get the job done. However, with 21 blown saves and a closer with no business being a closer in Neris, no lead is safe. You started to see that on Friday as Neris allowed a pair of singles to Alejandro Krik and Wagner to start the ninth before a forceout helped keep the Cubs in front. Throw in a third single and a balk, and the Blue Jays were within 5-3, but with two outs, Neris was on the verge of pitching another Houdini act as he looked to close things out. Unfortunately for him, what has been a season-long of struggles reared its ugly head again as Neris hung a splitter to George Springer, who connected for the game-tying RBI triple and helped send this game into extras 5-5. Craig Counsell has made several questionable decisions this season, but leaving Neris in as long as he did, especially with his struggles in this one, was a horrific decision that nearly backfired. “No one likes to give up runs. Héctor did today. He gave up the lead,” Counsell said. “But he kept it there and we got the job done. And that’s a win. And that’s the big thing. It’d be great to pick how [you get] every win and make them beautiful. But a win’s a win.” Fortunately, the Cubs still had Tyson Miller waiting in the wings, and with a scoreless top half of the 10th, the pressure fell back on the Cubs offense as they finally came through in a clutch situation. With the winning run on second and no one out, Chad Green was forced to go after Suzuki as the Cubs already had two runners on. For the most part, Suzuki and the Cubs have been bad in clutch situations, but this wasn't one of those spots, as Suzuki cashed in with a game-winning walk-off single to lift the Cubs to a 6-5 win. “It makes me happy,” Suzuki said via interpreter Edwin Stanberry. “I’m usually the one who goes out there and jumps on my teammates, so it felt good to be on the other side.” SEIYA STRIKES! GAME OVER! 👏 pic.twitter.com/VBhu3SPB5P Chicago had seven hits in the game, with Happ leading the way with two. The Cubs will look to clinch the series on Saturday when they send Justin Steele to the mound against Chris Bassitt. [W]rigleyville dubs. Sei no more! “He had a tough inning today, no question about it … but a win’s a win.” "We know exactly where we're at, and it's been that way for a while ... it doesn't matter how it looks, how we get it done, a win's a win." When Seiya smiles, we smile. 😄 pic.twitter.com/NVm5Ugs3i4
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Duh. pic.twitter.com/2XnG7wBpkw
Bellinger: HR, 2 RBI, R
Happ: 2-for-4, HR, RBI, 3 R
Suzuki: Game-winning RBI in the 10th pic.twitter.com/pc8Y5aalSH
Craig Counsell on Héctor Neris’ outing. pic.twitter.com/HYQkqk77RY
Kyle Hendricks on where the Cubs are in the standings after today's win. pic.twitter.com/BLma0M9Vd7
