Hammel roughed up again as Cubs fall 5½ behind Pirates
Saturday was another rough outing for Cubs pitcher Jason Hammel. He started against the Pittsburgh Pirates and pitched well through the first four innings, giving up no runs.
But the Pirates greeted him with 5 straight hits in the fifth, including a 3-run homer by Jordy Mercer on the way to a 4-0 victory at Wrigley Field. The victory was the second in a row by the Pirates in this three-game set, and it moved Pittsburgh 5½ games ahead of the Cubs in the race for the top wild-card spot in the National League. Both teams have clinched playoff berths.
Hammel fell to 9-7 with a 3.86 ERA. He has struggled much of the second half, with only 2 quality starts since the all-star break.
"He was doing great," said manager Joe Maddon. "He was making good pitches. His stuff was really good. All of a sudden, it happened very quickly, a 3-run homer, and that what was the difference in that game. Had they not done that, we could have utilized our bullpen differently. Give them credit. They came to play. They won."
If the Cubs get deeply into the playoffs, the starting rotation behind Jake Arrieta and Jon Lester is shaky. Hammel, Kyle Hendricks and Dan Haren have not performed consistently well, and Maddon has said the situation after the No. 2 spot could be fluid.
Left-hander Clayton Richard has pitched well out of the bullpen, but he has made 3 starts. Right-hander Trevor Cahill has featured good stuff out of the pen. He made 3 starts for the Braves earlier this year and has worked as a starting pitcher in the past.
Planning for Arrieta:
Jake Arrieta starts for the Cubs on ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball. He'll get one more start after that before opening the playoffs for the Cubs, who may consider easing off a bit to keep their ace fresh.
"We'll sit down and talk about that," said general manager Jed Hoyer. "Now that we're able to sit down and talk with Bos (pitching coach Chris Bosio) and talk to Joe about it, it changes things a little bit because we're in (the postseason). You don't want to get a guy off his rhythm, but at the same time, you may want to conserve some bullets. We'll sit down and talk about it and figure out what's right for Jake and what's right for the team."
Scouting the enemy:
The Cubs have seen plenty of the Pirates this month, and they may face them in a one-game wild-card playoff. They're scouting all potential opponents.
"We'll be very well-prepared," said Jed Hoyer. "Either way, we play these teams all the time. We'll do a ton of advance scouting and preparation even in advance of that one game. Every little thing, every little advantage you can get in that kind of game make a huge difference. It's probably going to be a close game. So if we can figure out a thing here or a thing there we can take advantage of, we'll look to do it."