Heyward's clutch home run turns Cubs goose egg into victory
Cubs manager David Ross didn't come out and actually say it, but he suggested the ninth inning might have been one to consider pinch-hitting for Jason Heyward.
It was a tough lefty vs. lefty matchup against Milwaukee Brewers closer Josh Hader. Over his career, Heyward was 1 for 8 against Hader with 3 strikeouts, according to mlb.com.
And since the Brewers started left-hander Brent Suter, most of their right-handed hitters were already in the lineup, while Cameron Maybin was feeling under the weather.
"Really tough matchup for JayHey, but we're running thin on players," Ross said after the game.
But hey, sometimes things just work out. The Cubs were trailing 2-0 in the ninth inning at Milwaukee on Saturday, on the verge of being shut out for the third time in four games.
With two runners on, Heyward got ahold of a 1-2 pitch and sent a blast over the fence in center field. Ildemaro Vargas followed with his first home run as a Cub and the tide had turned. Craig Kimbrel gave up 2 hits in the bottom of the ninth, but recovered to save the 4-2 victory.
"That's one thing I love about this group in general," Ross said. "They don't ever give up. That's a really nice win right there."
Besides the home runs, the table was set by two key members of the slump club. With one out, Javy Baez got things started with a single to right. Then Anthony Rizzo, sitting against the lefty, came off the bench and delivered a pinch-hit single to put runners on first and third. Heyward looked at a strike, swung and missed, and appeared to be at Hader's mercy.
"He had options," Heyward said. "He could have made whatever pitch he wanted right there, honestly. It was just nice to get rewarded taking a nice, short swing.
"I wanted to try and get a pitch up enough and that one kind of found me. He made a really good pitch, it changed my eye level. Started me off with a strike slider, got me to swing through a fastball up."
Heyward also appreciated being able to deliver a gift to one of his former Atlanta Braves teammates.
"Freddie Freeman's birthday is today," Heyward said. "He told me he was going to hit a home run on my birthday. He hit a homer. I was thinking that. I didn't tell him I was going to hit a homer, but it's nice to hit one and return the favor."
The Cubs salvaged a strong performance from Kyle Hendricks, who threw 7 2/3 innings, giving up a 2-run homer to Ryan Braun, 6 hits and 7 strikeouts. Hendricks fell one out shy of getting the victory, which went to Jason Adam.
"That was just huge for us as a group. It was unbelievable," Hendricks said. "We were putting together good at bats. You've got to give them credit. They were pitching really well. We stuck with the plan. They were saying it on the bench the whole game. Keep competing for nine innings."
On Friday, the Cubs got a strong start from Jon Lester, but lost 1-0 on a walk off sacrifice fly in the ninth.
"I would say this is a huge win. It's a tough win," Heyward said. "Last night Jonny Lester was looking like Jonny Lester. He had it in his eye, his stuff was sharp. We wanted to come with a win for him. Tonight Hendricks went out and pitched his butt off."
Twitter: @McGrawDHBulls