Cubs on to St. Louis after getting rocked by Royals, 13-2
After Thursday's dud performance in Kansas City, the Cubs have to be extra grateful Major League Baseball didn't cancel their weekend series in St. Louis.
The Royals pounded starter Tyler Chatwood and ended the Cubs' six-game win streak with a 13-2 win.
So now it's on to St. Louis, where the Cardinals have been off for a week after having six players and seven staff members test positive for COVID-19. The most familiar players on the shelf are shortstop Paul DeJong and catcher Yadier Molina.
St. Louis being off for a week doesn't necessarily mean the Cubs are at an advantage. The Miami Marlins, with 18 positive tests, returned this week after nine days off and won four straight over Baltimore.
"We have to trust the process," Cubs manager David Ross said. "We all want to play baseball here, we want to compete against every team. We want the season to continue and we want to get to the playoffs. I think everybody wants to put together a great season.
"We understand they had an issue. Major League Baseball has been pretty open and continues to do everything they can to tell us the things that are going on in St. Louis and why it's safe to go there. We just have to trust that process and continue to do what we've done."
Major League Baseball also announced new protocols, which include masks worn in the dugout and hotel lobbies. And players are not supposed to leave their hotel on the road without permission from the team's compliance officer.
The Cubs have been fortunate so far, with no positive coronavirus tests among players since summer training began on July 3.
Their string of positive pitching performances ran out on Thursday, though. Chatwood looked like a Cy Young contender in his first two starts, but was pounded in this one. He lasted just 2⅓ innings, giving up 11 hits and 8 earned runs.
"I made good pitches, they hit them. I made bad pitches, they hit them," Chatwood said after the game. "I think my stuff was all still there, maybe not as sharp as I wanted to be with the sinker. I still feel good. I feel like I was attacking and was trying to execute a game plan."
Ross wasn't concerned about Chatwood dealing with a sudden downturn in performance.
"This is the big leagues," Ross said. "Tyler's no stranger to being out there and knows there's going to be some bad days mixed in. Coming into this game, this guy was one of our best pitchers we've had. This guy was dealing. You're going to have nights when things don't go your way."
Struggling reliever Craig Kimbrel got a chance to work the eighth inning. He started by giving up a triple, walk and single, but then retired the next three batters to finish the inning with just a run allowed.
The Cubs (10-3) didn't ruin the shutout until there were two outs in the ninth inning, with RBI singles by Victor Caratini and Nico Hoerner.