Bethancourt makes bid for legendary status in wild Cubs comeback
PITTSBURGH — This Cubs season may ultimately be forgotten as nothing special.
Or people might be talking about the “Christian Bethancourt Game” decades in the future.
The Cubs trailed 10-3 at one point on Wednesday afternoon at PNC Park, then rallied for an unlikely 14-10 victory. Bethancourt delivered 7 RBI, including 6 in his final 3 at-bats — a 2-run homer in the seventh, 2-run double in the eighth and 2-run, go-ahead single with two outs in the ninth.
“That'll go down as a big-time memory,” said Cubs starting pitcher Kyle Hendricks, who was saved from an ugly loss. “Everybody will remember that game for sure.”
This one seemed like a lost cause, but the Cubs (68-66) finally pulled off the series sweep they've been looking for and improved to 17-8 since July 31. After a day off, they'll try to carry some momentum into Washington this weekend.
“It was fun,” Bethancourt said. “We played 27 outs, we never gave up. It takes everyone to come back and get a win like that. I'm proud of everyone.”
Another hitting star was Pete Crow-Armstrong, who went 4-for-4. With two outs in the ninth and the lead down to 1, the Pirates decided to walk PCA intentionally to load the bases and face Bethancourt. He sent the second pitch from David Bednar into left-field for a clutch, go-ahead single.
“I was like, 'This is your time to shine. You've got to get it done. You've got to find a way somehow,'” Bethancourt said. “I had one guy yell at me really loud behind home plate, 'You stink!' That went through my mind, I was like, 'You cannot stink this time. You've got to make him shut up,' and that's what I did.”
Bethancourt, who turns 33 next week, has spent eight years in the big leagues as both a pitcher and catcher. A native of Panama, he had a rough go earlier this season with the Marlins and was released on June 27.
The Cubs snapped him up, he played seven games in Iowa, then was called up to replace the injured Tomas Nido. Since then he's hit .385 for the Cubs with 3 home runs and a healthy 1.314 OPS.
“I don't know how you could play better than he's played,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “Every time he's in there, there's extra-base hits, there's RBIs, throwing out runners. He's been unbelievable.”
Bethancourt admitted being let go by the Marlins delivered a bit of a wake-up call.
“I work more now,” he said. “I take more reps, I practice more, I do more extra work. What went through my mind when I was done with the Marlins, I was like, 'This is probably my last shot, so I have to make the most of it.'”
The Cubs scored 3 early runs off Pirates rookie sensation Paul Skenes, but Hendricks was hit hard and couldn't finish the second inning. Then relievers Ethan Roberts and Drew Smyly each gave up 2 runs, so the Cubs faced a 10-3 deficit heading into the seventh.
Bethancourt provided some hope with the 2-run homer and 2-run double. He even stole third base before scoring on an Ian Happ single to make it 10-8.
“The dugout got some momentum and some vibes after we got 3 in the eighth,” Counsell said. “We put together a heck of an inning in the ninth.”
The ninth started with a single by Seiya Suzuki, fielder's choice, single by Isaac Paredes and walk to Nico Hoerner. Dansby Swanson drove in a run with a force play at second. When Swanson stole second base, Pittsburgh put Crow-Armstrong on base. Happ, Mike Tauchman and Suzuki followed Bethancourt with three more RBI singles to pad the lead.
The Cubs were short-handed in the bullpen, because Jorge Lopez is suffering from a groin strain, according to Counsell. The Cubs are hoping Lopez won't have to go on the injured list. In the meantime Porter Hodge, the Cubs' sixth pitcher, worked two innings to earn the win, after sitting in a scorching bullpen all day.
“I was trying to find shade over there for sure,” Hodge said. “But there was not much to work with.”