One to the chin: Odd bounce, bloodied mouth ruin Cubs’ second-half opener
This was a rough, painful start to the second half by the Cubs.
They got runners on base early, couldn't capitalize, then one big inning propelled the Minnesota Twins to a 5-2 victory at Wrigley Field on Friday.
The strangest play of the night was a throw to second base that missed Dansby Swanson's glove and hit him in the mouth. Swanson stayed on the ground for a few minutes but stayed in the game.
Later in the clubhouse, Swanson was in the training room, possibly getting stitches.
“He's not a dramatic person at all,” second baseman Nico Hoerner said. “So when he's down, there's something going on, obviously. Ball to the face never feels good. He's a tough guy, but that still doesn't feel good.”
The play was a slow grounder to first base by Tristan Gray. Michael Busch fielded the ball and tried to get the force at second. His throw was mostly on target but seemed to deflect slightly off runner Luke Keaschall’s hand.
“He's OK,” manager Craig Counsell said of Swanson. “He may need a couple stitches. Just kind of a freak play. He's got a little gash on his face for sure. I'm sure TV showed that, but he should be OK.”
That play also hurt the Cubs on the scoreboard. They failed to get the out at second, then two batters later, Ryan Jeffers dropped a 3-run homer into the left-field bleachers, giving the Twins a 4-1 lead in the third inning.
“I felt like it was a good pitch, but he put a good swing on it and just hit it like perfectly,” Cubs pitcher Colin Rea said. “Overall, I thought it was a good (performance) to start the second half with.”
At the start of the game, it looked like the Cubs might tee off on Minnesota right-hander Bailey Ober. They opened with two walks and a single in the first inning, then a pair of singles to open the second inning. But the Cubs scored just 1 run, thanks to two double plays.
After that Ober seemed to mesmerize Cubs hitters with a variety of slow stuff. Ober could make Kyle Hendricks look like a power pitcher. Even though the fastball was his most frequent pitch, his average velocity over 5-plus innings was 83.0 mph, with a peak of 88.4.
“He does have a unique pitch arsenal,” Counsell said of Ober. “We had our shots, really in the first inning. It's first and third, we've got 1 run in. He's at like 23 pitches, and then by 25 pitches, he's out of the inning already. So that was a big deal.”
Seiya Suzuki finally got a leadoff double against Ober in the sixth and scored on a wild pitch by ex-Cub Tommy Nance. Drew Pomeranz gave up a run in the seventh, his fourth straight appearance allowing at least 1 run.
The Cubs were heading into the second half with some optimism, sitting 12 games above .500 and five games behind the Brewers in the NL Central. That's not bad, considering they endured a 7-22 stretch, couldn't hit the ball, and saw most of the pitching staff visit the injured list.
“I think if you told me (in spring training) we were 12 over at the break, I'd be, 'OK, that seems solid,'” president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said before the game. “But the way we got there was so strange. The winning streaks, the 35 games, the worst offensive baseball, and struggling the injuries. It's been an odd half.
“It doesn't mean necessarily the second half's going to be like that. It could be very consistent. You just don't know. But I was proud of our guys. I thought we finished strong.”