Darvish battles and Chicago Cubs outlast Reds
There was an old-school, old-timey feel Saturday at Wrigley Field.
Tired of today's starting pitchers being babied and coming out after 5 or 6 innings?
We give you Yu.
That's Yu as in Chicago Cubs pitcher Yu Darvish.
With his manager saying he needed length out of his starter, Darvish went out for the eighth inning to face the Cincinnati Reds with his pitch count at 100 and holding a 6-5 lead.
It didn't quite work to plan, as Darvish gave up a game-tying home run to Derek Dietrich, but things worked out in the end for the Cubs as they scored twice in the bottom of the inning for an 8-6 victory.
David Bote hit a tiebreaking RBI double, and Kyle Schwarber added a sacrifice fly as the Cubs improved to 30-20.
Darvish's line isn't the prettiest - 7 innings, 12 hits, 6 runs, 3 home runs - but he helped save a depleted bullpen, and he earned some additional respect from his teammates after his longest outing as a Cub.
"That was huge," said center fielder Albert Almora Jr. "I thought he was really good today. I didn't think he was going to come back out (for the eighth). I said, 'Good job' in the seventh, not knowing. I saw him back in the eighth. I was like, 'All right, he wanted it. Here we go.' I was super excited for him, and I have all the confidence in him, too. It was really fun to see him out there today."
Darvish was able to joke about the outing.
"Yeah, I gave up like 18 hits and 12 runs," he said. "Still, a little happy I went 7 innings."
The key was a 7-pitch seventh, which Darvish ended by striking out Yasiel Puig.
"When I went out there for the eighth inning, I felt I still had the power in my tank," he said. "I put 100 percent for Puig, but I still had more. I feel like the guys trust me now. Huge step."
Even though manager Joe Maddon had nine relievers in the bullpen, few were available because of usage. Kyle Ryan relieved Darvish and got a strikeout. Dillon Maples, recalled earlier in the day from Class AAA Iowa, finished the inning.
Former starting pitcher Tyler Chatwood, who worked 4 innings of relief and threw 62 pitches Wednesday against the Phillies, earned his first Cubs save and the third of his career.
Chatwood gave up singles to the first two batters he faced, but he covered first base to finish a 3-6-1 double-play ball off the bat of Jesse Winker before getting Puig on a game-ending flyout.
"I I felt fine," he said. "Once I got out there, I had adrenaline, so I was good. Maybe I was trying to calm myself down the first two pitches I threw. But after that, I thought everything was pretty sharp, where I wanted to put it.
"It was awesome, to be out there and get the job done. It's cool. It's a cool feeling. If I get more (chances), cool. As long as I'm helping us win, that's all I want to do."
Maddon gave all credit to Darvish and tried to explain his machinations, which may have seemed maddening to some. He said before the game that Chatwood might have to stay ready to pinch hit with a three-man, position-player bench.
"We had him at like the lowest rung of the ladder to be ready to play today, but he assured us he could go 1 inning," Maddon said. "There's more to it than meets the eye. Again realize: These guys may pitch up to 60-70 days during the summer. You play 162. Almost half your games, they might be involved in. So there's not a lot of down time. There's a lot of effort involved."
The Cubs got home runs from Almora, Addison Russell and Jason Heyward on this 76-degree day, when the wind blew out toward right field. Russell was strong in the field, making a quick tag to get Jose Iglesias trying to steal second in the eighth. In the end, the Cubs were able to exhale.
"That's entertainment, guys," Maddon said.