Cubs shake off another bullpen injury, run win streak to nine
The Cubs survived a goose in the outfield and rat rampage in front of the visiting dugout this week to keep their win streak alive.
On Thursday it looked like the bullpen injury bug might be too much to overcome. Until it wasn't.
The Cubs coughed up a 6-2 lead in the late innings but managed to keep the score tied long enough for Dansby Swanson to drill a bases-loaded, walk-off RBI single in the 10th.
The 8-7 victory over Philadelphia at Wrigley Field stretched the Cubs win streak to nine in a row, their longest since winning 11 straight in 2016.
This was also the Cubs' first undefeated homestand of at least seven games since August 2015, when they both swept San Francisco and Craig Counsell's first Milwaukee team.
“At the end of the day, life throws you lemons, you make lemonade kind of deal,” Swanson said. “There's a reason we built this thing the way it was built. Just excited to keep going.”
The Cubs (16-9) may have lost another substitute closer along the way. Caleb Thielbar left the mound in the ninth inning, suffering from a tight left hamstring. He gave up a game-tying home run to pinch-hitter Adolis Garcia before heading to the training room.
Already without top closer Daniel Palencia and free-agent addition Phil Maton, it seems safe to say the Cubs will have to come up with someone new to join them at Dodger Stadium this weekend.
“Frankly, today was a pretty normal day in terms of what we had (available), Counsell said after the game. “Tomorrow, a little different.”
Left-handed rookie Riley Martin had to come in cold to replace Thielbar and walked the first two batters in a tie game. But he retired the next three hitters, ending the inning with a called third strike against Brandon Marsh, who hit two home runs Thursday.
At one point Counsell and the trainer went out to check on Martin, but that turned out to be a false alarm.
“Part of it is not knowing Riley that well,” Counsell explained. “He's just got some actions on the mound that kind of raised some alarm bells from myself (and) the trainer. So we went and visited him because of that. That's it.”
The Cubs couldn't convert a one-out double by Moises Ballesteros in the ninth. For the 10th they sent Javier Assad to the mound. He started last Sunday against the Mets but moved to a relief role now that Matthew Boyd is back from the injured list.
Assad mowed down the Phillies on seven pitches, setting the stage for Swanson's first walk-off hit with the Cubs. The Phillies started by intentionally walking Seiya Suzuki, then Carson Kelly's single loaded the bases. After Michael Busch struck out looking, Swanson ripped an 0-2 pitch into right-center field for the streak extender.
“There's so many positive adjectives to describe this group,” Swanson said. “Toughness comes to mind, professionalism, consistency, a joy. I think this team really enjoys playing together, playing this beautiful game that we get to play, being a part of something.”
A big part of the Cubs’ surge is that hitters who started slowly are heating up. Suzuki homered for the third straight day, Busch for the second day, while Ian Happ hit his team-high seventh homer onto Waveland Avenue. Suzuki and Busch started the week with 0 home runs.
Starting pitcher Edward Cabrera had an efficient outing, needing just 83 pitches to complete seven innings. A pair of unearned runs in the seventh, from an Alex Bregman throwing error, brought the Phillies within 6-5. The Phillies tied it in the eighth, then Suzuki's homer briefly sent the Cubs ahead.
Next up is a road trip to Los Angeles and San Diego, two of the better teams in baseball. The Cubs are not expected to see Shohei Ohtani, Tyler Glasnow or Yoshinobu Yammamoto on the mound this weekend.
According to ESPN, the Cubs acquired infielder Nicky Lopez from Colorado for cash considerations Thursday. The Naperville native had a couple stints with the Cubs last season.
The Cubs’ current utility infielder, Scott Kingery, made two errors at third base on Tuesday. It's not clear if that has anything to do with acquiring Lopez.