Much-maligned bullpen delivers for Cubs, who rally for 4-3 win to stay in hunt for top NL wild card

The Chicago Cubs thought they were receiving a new option for their reeling bullpen.

Right-hander Edward Cabrera was activated off the 15-day injured list Saturday after missing nearly a month with a right middle finger blister and was inserted into the relief corps, taking the place of Trent Thornton, who landed on the IL with a left ankle sprain.

But later in the day, it was the familiar faces of manager Craig Counsell’s bullpen who picked up the final 10 outs in a come-from-behind, 4-3 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates at Wrigley Field.

It was the type of performance from the Cubs bullpen that can breed confidence late in the season. The win moved them to 83-66 and a half-game up on the Philadelphia Phillies for the top NL wild-card spot with 13 games left in the season. The Phillies played the Braves later Saturday in Atlanta.

“It’s a hard thing, especially this time of the year, being a reliever,” right-hander Clay Holmes said. “You do your job 40 times of the year, and it’s just expected, and then when you’re not perfect a couple of times, it’s easy just to feel like the world’s spinning. You hear a lot of voices, people telling you this and that.

“It’s really tough just to kind of keep believing what you’re doing in those moments. There’s going to be some rough patches and you got to believe that things will level out and as soon as you get another good one, you go out there and kind of do what they did today, it just kind of levels the water some and you’re just able to keep going back out there and believe in yourself.”

The Cubs bullpen entered Saturday with a 4.57 ERA since Aug. 21, and their six blown saves in that span were tied for the major-league lead. Any option Counsell turned to at that time seemed to struggle. So Cabrera’s return, coupled with his tantalizing pitch arsenal, meant there was some very cautious optimism that operating in shorter bursts could help solve their woes.

“One of the things we talked to Cabby about is there’s examples,” Counsell said before the win. “A great example from last year is what (Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander) Roki Sasaki did the last month and into the playoffs. That could happen. That’s an example. That’s a road map to how this could be really successful.

“Is that the best result? That was a pretty darned good result. But that’s what you keep yourself open to.”

That’s a best-case scenario. The Cubs might’ve seen a better preview of the path to solving their bullpen malaise in Saturday’s win.

In a duel with Pirates ace Paul Skenes, Holmes cruised through 5⅓ innings, retired nine straight at one point and looked to be able to limit exposure for the bullpen. But he hit a road bump in the sixth, allowing a one-out, three-run home run to Ryan O’Hearn that flipped a two-run lead to a one-run deficit. The blast was even more crushing because shortstop Nico Hoerner made an error on the second hitter of the frame that allowed a runner to reach.

“Just made one bad pitch there in the sixth inning,” Holmes said. “That was a pitch, probably wish I could have back just knowing the score of the game, just my strengths, what I’m able to do.”

Holmes picked up the second out two batters later but then allowed a single and a walk to the Nos. 8 and 9 hitters to load the bases. That’s when Counsell turned to right-hander Jacob Webb to face lefty Oneil Cruz and the top of the Pirates lineup.

Webb, who was the Cubs closer just a few weeks ago, had blown three straight save opportunities and carried a 17.36 ERA in his last six outings (nine earned runs in 4⅔ innings).

“To be honest, it wasn’t an ideal situation I wanted to put him in for his next appearance,” Counsell said. “But in the sixth inning, if we’re going to win the game, (left-hander Ryan) Rolison’s going to have to get outs the next time around because it’s not late enough in the game.”

Webb induced a groundout, then pitched around a leadoff walk to post a scoreless seventh.

“I put us in a tough spot during the sixth inning, bases loaded, already down a run,” Holmes said. “For him to come in and keep that game where it is and then go back out and throw another scoreless (inning) was big.

“That was probably the game there. Gave us a chance to come back and win.”

Rolison tossed a scoreless eighth, allowing the Cubs to mount a rally in the bottom of the frame. Pedro Ramírez doubled to open the inning, but left-hander Gregory Soto picked up two outs against Tyrone Taylor and Pete Crow-Armstrong. The next four hitters reached without recording a hit — Alex Bregman was hit by a pitch, Seiya Suzuki and Matt Shaw drew walks and Hoerner was plunked to give the Cubs the lead.

Counsell sent Rolison back out in the top of the ninth with the top of the order due up, then turned to Ryan Zeferjahn to pick up the final out, and he struck out Bryan Reynolds to end it.

“It’s what being a reliever is, what being a high-leverage reliever is about,” Counsell said. “You’re going to have some times the other guys beat you, and it hurts, and then you’re going to get the ball the next time (and) say go do it again.”

The bullpen and the rest of the Cubs hope Saturday was a stepping stone to fixing their recent struggles.

“I thought the bullpen held it down today,” Webb said. “That’s what we need to be doing every time. I know it doesn’t work like that, but I think we have a really good bullpen down there and the guys are going to keep putting up zeros.”

Andy Martinez is a freelance reporter for the Chicago Tribune.