Kimbrel saves long day for Cubs to earn DH split
Things were starting to get a little dreary for the Cubs late in the afternoon Wednesday.
They got blown out in Game 1, squandered a late lead in Game 2 and were in danger of losing the five-game series against St. Louis.
But nothing saves the day like a seventh-inning rally and an actual save by relieve Craig Kimbrel.
David Bote's 2-run single in the top of the seventh sent the Cubs ahead 4-2, and Kimbrel mowed down the Cardinals in the bottom of the inning to collect his first save of the season. St. Louis won the opener 9-3.
Adbert Alzolay delivered an encouraging start in Game 2, his first appearance for the Cubs this year. But considering how broken Kimbrel was when the season began, his return to form is cause for celebration.
"Everything feels pretty under control," Kimbrel said after the game. "I feel like I can throw the ball where I want, somewhere close to where I want and when that happens everything kind of falls into place."
Kimbrel allowed one baserunner on a hit by pitch, but otherwise struck out the side in the seventh. As a reminder, MLB is playing seven-inning doubleheaders this season and the Cardinals batted last since this was a makeup of the series postponed by COVID-19 in St. Louis.
Kimbrel is a seven-time all-star, led the National League in saves four straight years with Atlanta, then won a World Series with Boston. But after his first three appearances this season, his ERA was 32.40. He also struggle after signing with the Cubs midway through last season.
"I think it's a couple things," he said. "I think it's bad habits. I think it's trying to get out of my bad habits in the wrong way and putting myself in areas where I was pretty much tying myself up with my mechanics instead of being free and easy."
So Kimbrel was getting into his own head, thinking about using the proper mechanics instead of just letting it fly. Cubs manager David Ross, who played with Kimbrel in Atlanta, had a method for judging Kimbrel's effectiveness.
"You see the foul balls, when they're underneath the baseball, then Craig's stuff is where it's supposed to be," Ross said. "I still think he's got some room to improve on the breaking ball."
This was Kimbrel's third straight outing with no runs allowed. His ERA is still 11.12, but he's headed in the right direction.
The usually reliable Jeremy Jeffress gave up the tying run in the sixth inning on 2 walks and an RBI single. But the Cubs responded in the seventh when singles by Kyle Schwarber, Willson Contreras and Nico Hoerner singled to load the bases. David Bote followed with a 2-run single to center. It was Bote's second game-winning hit of the series.
The Cubs offense struggled in Game 1. They bookended just 2 hits - a leadoff home run by Ian Hap in the first and a 2-run homer from Josh Phegley with two outs in the seventh.
Twitter: @McGrawDHBulls