So much for momentum: Cubs bullpen flubs 5-run lead
In baseball, it's often said, momentum is only as good as the next day's starting pitcher.
Sometimes the starting pitcher is very good, though, and the bullpen messes it up.
The Cubs' positive momentum slid down the drain in the late innings Saturday. Leading 5-0 after six, three relievers gave up 8 runs, giving Toronto an 8-6 victory at Wrigley Field.
Three pitchers were equally at fault — Trent Thornton, Caleb Thielbar and Jacob Webb were all charged with multiple runs. Webb surrendered the go-ahead 3-run homer to Toronto's Kazuma Okamoto in the eighth inning and later stood in front of his locker, ready to accept blame.
“I didn't bleeping execute today, plain and simple,” Webb said. “Coming in to stop the game right there, it's not anything else other than that. The last few outings, I've just made mistake after mistake. It's pretty bleeping frustrating, I'm not going to lie. Back to the drawing board, figure some stuff out.”
Webb felt the mistakes were mostly based on location. He's allowed runs in four of his last five outings, so it's fair to say he's in a bit of a slump. The right-hander's season ERA is now 3.90.
In general, though, the bullpen has performed well under tough circumstances. Since the Cubs’ downturn began on May 9, they are tied for eighth in reliever ERA at 3.41, compared to 29th in starter ERA at 5.80.
Closer Daniel Palencia is on the injured list and was diagnosed with a mild flexor strain after an MRI exam. The plan is for him to rest for a week and evaluate. Palencia probably wouldn't have helped in this game, since the Cubs lost the lead before the ninth.
The bullpen breakdown spoiled an excellent outing by starter Colin Rea, who gave up no runs, no walks and just 3 hits over 5⅓ innings.
“We came out with kind of a different plan today, trying to use the spin early and then went to the heater late,” Rea said. “I thought we were in a good spot for most of the outing. Trying to change it up, get better results. I felt like today was a good day for that.”
Rea threw just 78 pitches, so an argument could be made that he was pulled too soon. But Rea gave up a pair of singles with one out in the sixth, so with lefty Nathan Lukes coming up, manager Craig Counsell brought in left-hander Ryan Rollison, who threw one pitch and coaxed a double-play bouncer back to the mound.
The mistake was probably what happened next. Rather than stick with Rollison in the seventh, Counsell brought in righty Thornton, who surrendered a 3-run homer to Daulton Varsho. In the eighth, Thielbar started with a walk and single, then Webb gave up two more singles and the home run.
“We didn't have a good day in the bullpen,” Counsell said. “Colin pitched great, definitely put us in position to win. When you have three guys that kind of had bad days, we gave up a lot of runs because of that.”
Another rough moment for the Cubs came in the bottom of the eighth when they loaded the bases with nobody out. One run scored on Nico Hoerner's fielder's choice grounder, then Seiya Suzuki struck out on a 3-2 pitch in the dirt and Michael Busch fouled out.
Otherwise, all the Cubs runs came on a 3-run homer by Matt Shaw in the second inning, then a 2-run blast by Pete Crow-Armstrong in the sixth.
According to OptaStats, PCA was already having one of the best 18-game stretches in MLB history, with 34 hits, 9 home runs, 2 triples, 5 doubles and 6 stolen bases. No one had ever produced those numbers over 18 games. Crow-Armstrong went 2-for-4 Saturday with a walk, single and home run.