Cubs' late homer leads to second straight tie |
Dustin Riese
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- 14 hours ago
MESA—The Chicago Cubs simply won't be denied as they refuse to lose a game this Spring. However, unlike their first six games, which resulted in wins, the Cubs have had to settle for back-to-back ties and are now 6-0-2 in Cactus League play.
Their most recent tie came Thursday afternoon against the Los Angeles Angels as the Angels answered a late-game Jonathon Long double that put the Cubs in front 4-2 by taking Brooks Kriske deep in the ninth to tie things up 4-4, which is how the game ended. Blown ninth-inning leads were an all too common theme for the Cubs last season, but they haven't been an issue this Spring until today as this was the Cub's first blown lead of the Spring, and it came from someone expected to open the season in Iowa. With this being officially the second week of games, you're going to start seeing everyone make their second turn through the rotation, including Jordan Wicks, who was making his second start of the Spring. One of the many pitchers trying to earn the NO. 5 spot to open the season, Wicks may be the favorite right now, even if his second outing wasn't as good as his first. Wicks pitched into the third, allowing two runs on four hits and striking out three as the Cubs faced an early deficit. It only took two batters for the Angels to take the lead. Tim Anderson touched up Wicks for a solo shot, and the Cubs trailed 1-0. Playing from behind hasn't been an issue for the Cubs this Spring, but you're seeing more of that over the past few games. That wouldn't be as much of a concern if the offense were delivering, but this was the second straight game where the Cubs offense was held without a hit through four innings as Caden Dana and Hans Crouse had the Cubs guessing as the duo allowed no hits with five strikeouts through four innings. Throw in a second-inning RBI from Chuckie Robinson to give the Angels a 2-0 lead, and things weren't looking good for the Cubs during the first half of this one as their offense looked lifeless. Despite Wicks not being as sharp as he would've liked, the Cubs pen continued to pick up the slack as Wil Jensen, Ryan Pressly, Keegan Thompson, Nate Pearson, Ethan Roberts, and Daniel Palencia not only took over, but held the Angels to just one hit across five-plus innings with eight combined punchouts. That included two from Pressly, who looked much better in his second inning than his first. Still leading by a pair in the fifth, the Angels had a chance to break things open as a pair of walks and a hit by a pitch from Pearson loaded the bases, only to have him get out of the jam without damage. Those momentum swings can change a game, and it shouldn't come as a surprise to see the Cubs' offense respond in the bottom half of the inning. Led by a Michael Busch single to lead things for the first Cubs hit, Dansby Swanson pushed across their first run as his RBI double pulled the Cubs within 2-1. A Dansby RBI double puts us on the board! pic.twitter.com/uwQKeBSiUi Two batters later, it was Carson Kelly coming up clutch as he delivered the third hit of the inning for the Cubs and made this a 2-2 game with a single. Tie ballgame! Thx Carson Kelly 🤝 pic.twitter.com/AkVjSmwGXi Like in the fifth, the Angels had their chances to take the lead with Thompson on the mound, only to have the right-hander escape another jam to keep the game tied. That was the best scoring chance for either side over the next few innings, as this was still a 2-2 game entering the bottom half of the eight. This was when the Cubs' late-game magic started to surface again as the one-out Dixon Machado single put the go-ahead runner on base while a Christian Franklin walk helped keep the inning going. Needing a big two-out hit to take the lead, another highly-touted Cubs farmhand in Long came through as he drove one over the head of the right fielder for a double to give the Cubs their first lead of the game 4-2. Trailing by that same 4-2 score and down to their final out, it was the Angels turn to rally off Kriske as Denzer Guzman worked a walk to extend the inning and kept the Angels hopes alive. That walk proved to be incredibly costly for Kriske as he wound up leaving a hanging slider in the hitting zone to the next hitter and watched Kyren Paris launch it over the left-center field fence to tie things up 4-4 and send the game to the bottom of the ninth. Jonathon Long delivers! pic.twitter.com/pk3HmF9prV The Cubs had their chance to win this game in regulation as the one-out Cristian Hernandez double helped set the offense up while a pair of walks to Jose Escobar and Machado loaded the bases with two outs. Needing a hit to win the game, Christian Franklin stepped up to the plate, and after taking strike one to open the at-bat, Franklin popped up to second to end the game as the Cubs left the bases loaded and settled for the 4-4 tie. Despite their offense struggling for most of the early innings, the Cubs still wound up with eight hits as they continued to show great late-game fights. On Friday, Chicago will look to regain the winning side against the Texas Rangers. Final: pic.twitter.com/vbmIlfA8Ay
