Lester injured, Cubs fall short in wild rally
A spate of injuries is the last thing a Cubs team trying desperately to hang onto their tenuous lead in the NL Central needs right now.
But with starting catcher Wilson Contreras getting hurt last week and Jon Lester being taken out of Thursday's 13-10 loss to the Reds in the second inning with left lat tightness, fans have a right to start getting worried.
Lester's velocity was down from the get-go against the Reds and he allowed 9 runs (7 earned) in 1⅔ innings. The lefty was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital and the Cubs hope to have an update Friday.
“When a pitcher of his stature is potentially injured, of course you're a little bit concerned,” said Cubs manager Joe Maddon. “But I don't want to jump to any conclusions either.”
Lester made his NL-leading 26th start against the Reds and breezed through the first inning by throwing 6 pitches.
He almost escaped the nightmarish 9-run second by allowing just 2 runs, but clutch two-out hits by Jose Peraza (2-RBI single) and Joey Votto (3-run homer) quickly made it 7-0.
The Cubs fought back in impressive fashion, getting a whopping 6 home runs — including back-to-back-to-back by Alex Avila, Ian Happ and Javier Baez on four pitches in the fourth inning. It was the first time since Sept. 15, 2004 that the Cubs hit 3 straight HRs.
When Anthony Rizzo doubled home Kris Bryant and later scored to tie the game at 9-9 on a fifth-inning Avila double, it appeared a Cubs victory was all but certain.
Alas, it was not to be as Phillip Ervin deposited a Justin Grimm (1-2) offering into the left-field bleachers to give Cincinnati an 11-9 lead, and the Reds managed to salvage a split in the four-game series.
“It would have been great if we had won that game — a game that you're not supposed to win, you end up winning,” said Avila, who was 2-for-4 with 3 RBI. “That would have been the better story obviously. But it's a loss.”
Said Maddon: “When you score 10 runs today and lose, that's difficult to swallow.”
The Cubs (63-57) are 7-9 in August and their lead over the idle Brewers is down to 1 game.
Losing Lester for any length of time would obviously be a huge blow, but the Cubs are lucky in that Mike Montgomery could easily step in until Lester is healthy. Montgomery was impressive Thursday, throwing 4⅓ scoreless innings in relief.
After Montgomery departed, the Reds scored 4 runs on just 2 hits off relievers Grimm, Justin Wilson and Hector Rondon. The problem? They combined to walk six batters.
“Walks are difficult. You can't catch a walk. It really comes down to that,” Maddon said. “We have to get better with that.
“I mean, physically our stuff is outstanding. Still, if you look at the overall ranking of our bullpen, it's still second in the National League. So we've done a lot of good things. Today was just a bad day and we've got to get a couple guys straightened out.”
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Scouting report
Cubs vs. Toronto Blue Jays at Wrigley Field
TV: Comcast SportsNet Friday; ABC 7 Saturday; and WGN on Sunday
Radio: WGN 720-AM
Pitching matchups: The Cubs' Jake Arrieta (12-8) vs. J.A. Happ (6-8) Friday at 1:20 p.m.; Jose Quintana (3-2) vs. Nick Tepesch (1-1) Saturday at 1:20 p.m.; Kyle Hendricks (4-4) vs. Marco Estrada (5-8) Sunday at 1:20 p.m.
At a glance: The Blue Jays (59-62) have won of six of eight. ... Justin Smoak leads the way offensively (.296, 33 HRs, 80 RBI) on a team that was hitting just .241 entering their 5-3 win Thursday over Tampa Bay. ... The Blue Jays have just 5 triples all season, worst in the majors. Baltimore and the L.A. Angels rank 28th with 10 each. ... This will be just the second time the Cubs and Blue Jays have met since 2009.
Next: Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ballpark, Tuesday-Thursday.
— John Dietz