One curve too many: Bregman’s clutch home run rescues Cubs offense

In baseball, one swing can turn a day of failure into a thrilling victory.

Maybe it can also help turn a disappointing individual campaign into something worthwhile.

The Cubs managed next to nothing offensively against Toronto pitcher Dylan Cease on Thursday. But trailing 2-0 with two outs and two strikes in the ninth inning, Alex Bregman sent a line-drive home run into the left field corner to tie the game.

Eventually in the 11th inning, the Cubs won 3-2 when Pete Crow-Armstrong stole third base, then sprinted home when the throw got past the fielder for an error and rolled into the outfield.

“That's a huge hit. That means everything,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “That's one that takes an 'L' off the board and gives you a 'W.'”

As usual, Bregman was all business. He didn't show much emotion as he circled the bases and was calm during his postgame interview.

“I feel like good teams find ways to win ballgames,” Bregman said. “We faced some of the best pitching in the world this homestand. I felt like our pitchers went toe-to-toe with them and our offense put together good at-bats. I felt like this homestand, we played team ball all around.”

The list of opposing pitchers included Max Fried, Gerrit Cole, Tarik Skubal and now Cease. That's 10 all-star appearances and three Cy Young Awards between them.

In the ninth, Bregman faced Toronto closer Louis Varland, who had a 1.09 ERA and was 24-for-24 in save opportunities heading into this one.

Varland hit 100 miles per hour on his second pitch of the ninth inning, but gave up a leadoff single to Pete Crow-Armstrong on a knuckle curve. After retiring Seiya Suzuki and Michael Busch, Varland threw three straight curves to Bregman. He swung and missed, took a pitch for a ball, then sent the third try into the basket, barely fair and barely high enough to clear the fence.

Did it seem like an odd pitch choice to a veteran hitter like Bregman?

“I think he's got one of the best curveballs in the game,” the Cubs third baseman said. “Early in the year, curveball might be a good pitch to me, I don't know.

“I feel like normally the best pitchers throw their best stuff. He's nasty, he's got a bunch of different pitches that are really good. Obviously, you've got to respect 100, but keeping in mind that he does throw a lot of curve balls that are really hard, like 90.”

In his first year with the Cubs, Bregman had a slow start at the plate, then got hot in July. Still, his current .713 OPS is easily the lowest of his career. He added a defensive gem in the 10th inning, snagging a line drive off the bat of Nathan Lukes that would have scored a run otherwise.

Cubs relievers Caleb Thielbar and Trent Thornton kept Toronto off the board in the 10th and 11th innings, respectively. Crow-Armstrong led off the 11th with a single to center off former Cubs first-round pick Brendon Little. Catcher Carson Kelly, the automatic runner at second, was thrown out trying to score.

PCA went to second on the throw, the Blue Jays walked Suzuki intentionally and with Busch at the plate, Crow-Armstrong broke for third. Counsell said later the Cubs felt like Little was susceptible to the stolen base.

The vast majority of Thursday's game, the makeup of a June 21 rain out, was a pitching master class by Cease, the former Cubs draft pick who has been haunting the club since a 2017 trade for Jose Quintana sent him to the White Sox.

This was Cease's ninth start against the Cubs. He has a 4-2 record with a 2.15 ERA, and 71 strikeouts in 54 innings. On Thursday, he fanned 10 and allowed just 2 singles over 7 innings.

Cubs starter David Peterson wasn't sharp, giving up 7 hits and 3 walks over 5 innings. But the 1 run he allowed was a gift. After a walk, single and fielder's choice in the first inning, Toronto had runners on the corners with two outs. Peterson nearly picked off George Springer at first base, but then he made another pickoff throw — his third of the inning — which is no longer allowed under the speed-of-play rule changes.

Officially a disengagement violation, it worked like a balk, and sent home Kazuma Okamoto with the first run of the game. The score stayed 1-0 until the Blue Jays plated a second run in the seventh.

“I messed up. That's on me,” Peterson said. “I felt like, from what I saw, I had (Springer) in a spot to get him out there. Not the smartest play on my part. We have a better chance at getting him with a good throw, but that's a mistake we can't have.”