Bullpen blows up as Cubs' win streak ends at 6
They aren't exactly a pair of matching bookends, but the effect was the same, and it wasn't pretty for the Cubs.
Back on July 9, the Pittsburgh Pirates scored 10 runs in the first inning on the way to a 14-3 victory over the Cubs, sending the Cubs into the all-star break on a downer.
On Friday, in the Cubs' first home game back from the break, the St. Louis Cardinals scored 9 in the eighth inning to erase a 3-2 deficit and go on to an 11-4 victory.
The Cubs used three relievers in the eighth, and neither Carl Edwards Jr. nor Hector Rondon could get anybody out among the three.
The loss snapped the Cubs' six-game winning streak and dropped their record to 49-46.
Cubs manager Joe Maddon could do nothing but note the oddity of the Cubs giving up 9 runs in an inning on Friday, 10 against the Pirates and 7 in the third inning to the Milwaukee Brewers on July 6.
“I have not seen that since Rrokie ball,” Maddon said. “That's crazy stuff.”
Maddon tried to think back to when he might have last seen innings like these recent run-gushers at Wrigley.
“I've managed in Salem, Idaho Falls and Midland,” he said. “It's probably more reminiscent of Midland. But that's really unusual to see that kind of stuff.”
Of course, Maddon could see sunshine through the postgame downpour that hit Wrigley Field, and he liked the rest of Friday's game.
Jake Arrieta pitched 6 inning of 5-hit ball, giving up 2 runs. But the Cubs stranded nine runners, including three in the sixth inning.
“Yeah, but we had good at-bats,” Maddon said. “We really played well today. We played a good game of baseball. The at-bats were good. We were hitting balls all over the place. Some were being caught. We were using line to line. Addy (Addison Russell) tried to bunt on his own to try to advance runners. Everything, we did everything well. Jake was really good.”
In the fateful eighth, Edwards faced three batters, walking two. Rondon came in with the bases loaded and wound up facing four batters, walking two.
“Rondon, I just put him in a bad spot,” Maddon said. “I just had no choice. But I put him in a bad spot. When I took him out, I said to him, ‘Listen, Ronnie, I put you in a bad spot. At (18 pitches), that pretty much permits you to pitch again tomorrow if it's necessary.'”
Justin Grimm finished the inning, in which the Cardinals sent 14 men to the plate and walked six times. They scored all 9 runs before an out was recorded.
“You just can't open another can of pitchers,” Maddon said.
Rondon had posted a 1.38 ERA over his previous 13 games, earning praise from Maddon before the game. Afterward, Rondon faced reporters.
“It's tough to come into that situation, especially when we tried to hold the lead and hold my teammate in front, too,” he said. “It's really tough to get success in those moments, but it is what it is.”
Arrieta turned in the Cubs' fifth quality start since the all-star break and his second. He said the good feeling that came from the 6-0 road trip to Baltimore and Atlanta continues.
“We feel good about it,” he said. “I don't think we've gotten too high or too low, even throughout some slumps where we weren't very happy about the way we were playing. I feel like we've been able to maintain an even keel and stay focused. While there has been some frustration, that's just kind of the nature of not playing up to your potential and knowing you're better than you're playing.”