'I don't feel like we lost this; I feel like they beat us': Cubs season ends in wild-card game
There was no champagne flowing in the Chicago Cubs clubhouse after Tuesday night turned to Wednesday morning.
But there were plenty of tears flowing, plenty of hugs and plenty of handshakes.
For the second day in a row, the Cubs watched another team celebrate on Wrigley Field. On Monday, it was the Milwaukee Brewers winning Game 163 of an extended regular season to capture the National League Central title by 1 game.
Tuesday night and shortly after midnight Wednesday, the Colorado Rockies jumped around the field after beating the Cubs 2-1 in 13 innings to win the one-game National League wild-card playoff. The Rockies move on to the National League division series against the Brewers.
Tony Wolters, the Rockies' third catcher of the night and a .170 hitter this season, singled home the winning run against Cubs pitcher Kyle Hendricks, the second Cubs starting pitcher to work in relief.
The Rockies scored the run after two were out as Trevor Story and Gerardo Parra singled ahead of Wolters.
The Cubs made the postseason for the fourth straight year, but this was this group's earliest exit.
Ace Jon Lester started for the Cubs and worked 6 innings of 4-hit, 1-run ball, that run coming in the first inning. Lester was outdueled by Rockies Lefty Kyle Freeland, who pitched 6⅔ innings and gave up 4 hits and no runs.
“I don't feel like we lost this; I feel like they beat us,” said Lester, who was 18-6 during the regular season. “We got ourselves in this situation. We played our hearts out tonight. That's a tough game.”
Lester said there was a reason for the emotion in the clubhouse afterward.
“I feel like the bonding that goes on here is different from anywhere else,” he said. “You got guys in here that are unique. I feel like this is my family. You see a lot of emotion here. I don't think anybody's moving on from this.”
As has happened much of the way down the stretch, the Cubs' offense faltered again. They had only 3 hits against the Brewers in Monday's 3-1 loss. Over 13 innings Tuesday night, they were outhit 11-6.
“It's happened,” said manager Joe Maddon. “We put ourselves in that position often. Even the games against the Pirates to get to this point, we didn't score a whole lot.
“We have been fighting this, and I want to believe and I do believe that you're going to see a lot of these guys rebound more offensively next year because they're very talented and they're young and they're not hurt.”
The Rockies scored a run in the first inning off Lester, who minimized what could have been a bigger inning.
Charlie Blackmon led off the game with a walk and went to second on a double to left-center by former Cub DJ LeMahieu. The dangerous Nolan Arenado lifted a sacrifice fly to center field, but Lester bore down to strike out both Trevor Story and Matt Holliday.
Cubs batters did little with Freeland. They picked up singles in each of the first two innings and got nothing until pinch hitter Ian Happ walked while batting for Lester in the sixth. After Ben Zobrist struck out, Kris Bryant's flyball to right dropped for a single.
But Anthony Rizzo went first-pitching swinging and grounded into a 6-4-3 double play.
Lester settled down well after the first inning.
Javier Baez, the Cubs' MVP candidate, tried to bring the flailing offense to life. He did so in the eighth, and he also brought the crowd of 40,151 to its feet. Rizzo singled with two outs. Terrance Gore pinch ran for Rizzo. Baez came up and legged out an RBI double to left center as the crowd chanted “Javy, Javy” and “MVP, MVP.”
But that wasn't enough, as the two teams slogged it out until the 13th. In the bottom of the 13th, Rockies reliever Scott Oberg struck out the side to end the game.
In the end, the Cubs wound up using eight relief pitchers, including Hendricks and Cole Hamels.
“It was tough,” Baez said. “It was a great game from both sides. We fought to the end.”
Before the game, Baez was asked about the Cubs offense, which limped home during September.
“We've got to stop worrying about other teams,” Baez said. “We've got to go out there and have fun. We've got to go out there and compete. If we do that, there's no team that can beat us, and they know that, so that's why they run their mouth a lot, because they know we're the best. Even when we're struggling, we are the head of everybody.”
Baez wouldn't specify whom he meant.
“It doesn't matter — like everybody,” he said. “Everybody. Fans. Who cares? I don't pay attention to it, but it's around us, and if we pay attention, we get in their trap.”
In the end the Cubs snared themselves in their own trap of not hitting.
“We've had plenty of opportunities,” Maddon said. “I'm not here to denigrate anybody. Our work's put in, the hay's in the barn, everybody cares. It just didn't play out this way offensively.”