Cubs don’t follow normal script to win seventh straight
If someone tried to script this Cubs season before it began, even the most creative writer probably wouldn't have come up with, “Standing ovation for the pinch-hitter.”
And this wasn't game-on-the-line kind of stuff. It happened in the fifth inning of a scoreless tie.
The Cubs loaded the bases with two outs and fans erupted when Moises Ballesteros stepped out of the dugout to pinch-hit for Matt Shaw.
Ballesteros had 11 hits in his previous 16 at-bats, so it's easy to see why he's a fan favorite. But this was a little over the top for the fifth inning. With most of the spectators on their feet, Ballesteros started 0-2, then coaxed a walk from Phillies reliever Orion Kerkering to send home the game's first run.
“It was a cool moment,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “It was the fifth inning of an April game and Wrigley is on its feet and enjoying it. And he had a great at-bat. He really locked in.”
The Cubs ran their win streak to seven straight with a 7-4 victory over Philadelphia at Wrigley Field. The player of the game was starting pitcher Shota Imanaga, who stayed in command for 7 innings.
Imanaga allowed 3 hits and 1 run on a Kyle Schwarber solo homer, with 1 walk and 1 strikeout. Since allowing a first inning 3-run homer in his initial start against Washington on March 29, Imanaga has produced a 1.29 ERA over the next 28 innings. Maybe a surprise since he struggled at the end of last year?
“This is not something he hasn't done,” Counsell said. “So it's not above what he's a capable of. It's sustainable. This is what we've seen from Shota. So I'm not surprised.”
After Schwarber's homer tied the score, the Cubs took the lead for good in the sixth when Michael Busch won a left-on-left hitting matchup and sent a soft line single into center field to score 2 runs.
Home runs by Nico Hoerner and Seiya Suzuki in the seventh added much-needed insurance. Suzuki's blast was his first of the season, it landed on Waveland Avenue and measured 441 feet.
Before the game, Counsell got slightly defensive when asked yet another question about whether to let Ballesteros get more at-bats against left-handed pitchers.
“I'd ask everybody, do you guys want to develop players or do you want to win?” Counsell said. “Which one do you want to do? Oh, you want to do both? And you want it to be sunny every day and 70 degrees?
“Look, we're trying to accomplish everything, but at times you've got to make some choices.”
Things got tense late in the game when reliever Jacob Webb brought the tying run to the plate, but Caleb Thielbar came on to record the final two outs. Scott Kingery, filling in at third base after Shaw left for the pinch-hitter, committed 2 errors, including one that extended the ninth inning.
There were several injury updates involving relief pitchers. Phil Maton (right knee tendinitis) threw live batting practice and said he felt good. No word yet on what the next move is.
Closer Daniel Palencia had an MRI exam that revealed a muscle issue, which Counsell described as a lower lat strain on the left side. The Cubs are hopeful Palencia will start throwing again by the end of the week.
Hunter Harvey (right triceps inflammation) will begin a throwing program on Friday. Porter Hodge had his Tommy John surgery Monday and was given a 12-14 month recovering timeline.