Miles: Defense, bullpen make all the difference for Cubs
Cubs manager Joe Maddon was talking about "separators" before Friday's 8-4 loss to the Kansas City Royals at Wrigley Field.
Maddon mentioned that defense, the bullpen and their World Series experience separate the Royals from the Cubs at this point.
We all know the Cubs haven't had much World Series experience since the end of World War II. And as things played out on a humid Friday afternoon, defense and the bullpen were indeed separators between the Cubs and Royals.
"They showed why they went to the World Series last year; we showed why we're not ready yet," Maddon said after his team let one get out of hand late.
The Cubs helped the Royals break open a 4-4 game in the eighth and ninth innings. Cubs reliever Pedro Strop walked the first man he faced in the eighth, and the Royals wound up scoring 3 runs. Center fielder Dexter Fowler dropped Omar Infante's liner with two outs, allowing a pair of unearned runs to scamper home.
The Royals got another unearned run in the ninth inning to snap a four-game losing streak of their own.
"We didn't make the one play," Maddon said. "It's before that. We didn't make pitches. The bullpen, you have to make pitches when it's necessary. We didn't do that, and that put us in that particular bind.
"It was such a great game for 7⅔ innings. I thought we were really going to pull it out."
Strop, a key setup man last year, suffered the loss and saw his ERA go to 4.09.
"It's always a bad thing," he said of the leadoff walk in the eighth to Mike Moustakas. "You don't walk them when the game is on the line in the eighth inning. The walk's a big issue."
The Cubs got a decent, if not great, start by Jake Arrieta, who allowed solo home runs to Alcides Escobar (on the first pitch of the game), Alex Gordon and Salvador Perez.
"They came out swinging, and I expected that," said Arrieta, who gave up 8 hits and 4 runs in 7 innings. "As an opposing player, you come here and see what the wind is doing. I was in the strike zone early and often, which is a good thing. It hurt in a couple of scenarios."
Maddon talked about how his former club, the Tampa Bay Rays, set the template a few years ago for up-and-coming young teams. The Royals used that template to get to the World Series last year, losing to the Giants in seven games. Maddon and players such as Arrieta are hoping the Cubs can be the next team to ascend.
The Cubs got home runs from young players Jorge Soler and Addison Russell, and an RBI double from Kris Bryant during Friday's comeback from 2-0 and 4-1 deficits.
They also know there will be plenty of growing pains along the way, however long it takes.
"Everything is good," Arrieta said. "With Kansas City and Washington (the opponent earlier this week), those are high-level clubs. The Royals played in the World Series last year and had some tremendous years from a lot of their guys. It's good to match up with them. It kind of lets you know where you stand a little bit.
"It exposes your mistakes and where you need to get better at some things. We will. We were in that game right up until the end, and we'll be better for it."
• Follow Bruce's baseball reports on Twitter @BruceMiles2112