Cubs' sweep not all smoke and mirrors
The good times are rolling, both on the field and in the clubhouse for the Cubs.
They came from behind Thursday to beat the New York Mets 6-5 and sweep a four-game series at Wrigley Field.
In the clubhouse, the disco music has been blaring and the smoke machine churning it out.
“Make sure to put it down,” said catcher Miguel Montero. “We are good.”
And be sure to add the hashtag if you're on Twitter.
On the heels of a weekend when the Cubs lost another series to the Milwaukee Brewers — the so-called worst team in baseball — they showed some character in knocking off the Mets, the first-place team in the National League East, at least for now.
“I see heart,” said center fielder Dexter Fowler, who got Cubs on the board when he led off the bottom of the fourth inning with his third homer of the season to bring his team within 3-1. “Every guy is just trying to do their job. Nobody's trying to do too much. You've got guys on the team that know their roles and play their roles well. Mine's getting on base. I'm just trying to contribute.”
The Mets went up 5-1 in the fifth inning and chased Cubs starting pitcher Travis Wood, but the offense picked him up with 4 runs in the bottom of the inning. Fowler wound up scoring the game-winning run on a passed ball in the seventh.
“We're playing at a very high mental level,” said manager Joe Maddon, whose team is 19-15 and who earned his 800th victory as a big-league skipper. “I think we have been, even on the road trip (when the Cubs went 2-5). We lost a couple games in St. Louis that we played well. I said we've been playing good baseball; we just weren't able to keep it together the middle part of the game. We did today. That led to the victory.”
The Cubs were outhit by the Mets 10-6, but for the fifth game in a row, the Cubs played errorless ball while the Mets committed the costly passed ball and another error.
About the only downer on the day was Wood, who gave up 7 hits and 5 runs, including 3 home runs, in 4⅓ innings. The Cubs got him off the hook, but his ERA rose to 5.59, and he has had 3 straight non-quality starts.
The Cubs seem inclined to stay with Wood, even though lefty Tsuyoshi Wada had a solid start Thursday while rehabbing an injury at Class AAA Iowa.
“He's got good stuff,” Maddon said of Wood. “Once the horse got out of the barn, he started throwing the ball better. We just got to get him to do that from Pitch 1. Stuff is still really good. I love this guy. He's a great athlete. We're still going to work on it.”
Wood, who had a bad 2014 following an all-star 2013, did not seem fazed.
“It's early,” he said. “The last couple games haven't gone the way I had hoped or planned or worked for. But it's early. There's a long season to get everything ironed out. We're going to get there.”
Cubs scouting report
Cubs vs. Pittsburgh Pirates at Wrigley Field
TV: Comcast SportsNet Friday; ABC 7 Saturday; WGN Sunday
Radio: WBBM 780-AM
Pitching matchups: The Cubs' Kyle Hendricks (0-1) vs. Jeff Locke (2-2) Friday at 1:20 p.m.; Jon Lester (3-2) vs. Gerrit Cole (5-1) Saturday at 3:05 p.m.; Jake Arrieta (4-3) vs. A.J. Burnett (2-1) Sunday at 1:20 p.m.
At a glance: The Cubs already have seen plenty of the Pirates, going 4-3 against them, 2-1 at Wrigley Field. The Pirates have been treading water near the .500 mark most of the early going. Starling Marte is among the National League leaders in home runs and RBI, but Andrew McCutchen is off the a slow start. Pitching is keeping the Pirates afloat. They entered Thursday third in the NL in ERA (3.06), but their offense was 12th in batting average, 11th in runs and 13th in on-base percentage. The Cubs were second in walks taken and fourth in OBP. First baseman Anthony Rizzo was second in OBP (. 463). He and rookie third baseman Kris Bryant are among the leaders in walks. This series ends a stretch of 19 consecutive games against NL Central foes for the Cubs.
Next: San Diego Padres at Petco Park, Tuesday-Thursday
— Bruce Miles