Cubs blasted by Red Sox |
BOSTON — Throughout this stretch of play by the Chicago Cubs (17-10), there have been some good wins, some bad losses, but never any ugly games. Keep in mind that this team is going through one of the worst stretches of injuries in recent memory, and it is amazing that they are even in the position they are in right now.
Credit Craig Counsell and the team for continuing to battle, but Saturday was a game to forget for the Cubs. Looking to clinch their series against the Boston Red Sox (15-13) at Fenway Park, the Cubs had what you would call an ugly loss, and it took 27 games to have it. This wasn't just an ugly loss, but it was a loss that saw the Red Sox put up a pair of six-run innings, Matt Mervis and Patrick Wisdom see time on the mound, and an offense that was held to just five hits. All that put together leads to a 17-0 loss as the Red Sox sent a message to the Cubs. This was a weird game for various reasons, and you can look at the starting pitching matchup as one of the reasons. Although this wasn't considered a bullpen game per se, when both starters only go three innings, it becomes a bullpen game as Ben Brown faces off against Josh Winckowski. Brown wasn't perfect, but he wasn't terrible either, as he allowed three runs in 3 2/3, with no walks and four strikeouts. However, he allowed seven hits as he was hit much harder than he has been this season. Winckowski, on the other hand, was better, striking out one in his three innings and scattering three of the Cubs' five hits. From there, it all came down to the bullpens, which is where the Red Sox stood tall and the Cubs didn't. The Cubs didn't have a ton of scoring chances in the game, but with a Mike Tauchman hit by pitch and a Christopher Morel single in the first, they had a chance to break through, only to come up empty. The same can't be said about the Red Sox, who got things going early. All it took was one swing for them to deliver the victory, as Tyler O'Neill connected for his second homer in as many days to put the Red Sox in front 2-0. O'Neill has been a Cubs killer his entire career, so you know he has had these games circled on his calendar to begin the season. Chicago continued to keep the pressure on Winckowski in the second, with Yan Gomes picking up a single ahead of the Pere Crow-Armstrong double, while Chicago had runners in second and third. Once again, the offense stalled as this was the best scoring chance at any point. Despite allowing three singles the next two innings, Brown did a great job of settling down after his shaky first inning and did his part to keep things close. Even after Ceddanne Rafaela added a sacrifice fly in the third, this was still just a 3-0 game and plenty of time left for the Cubs to mount a comeback. With Brown now out of the game, it was up to Luke Little to keep things close, but this was about to be a nightmare outing for the left-hander. What started with an O'Neill double was quickly followed by a Wilyer Abreu single, and just like that, it was 4-0 Boston. Little has had his issues throwing strikes this season, and this was one of those instances as a pair of hit-by pitches loaded the bases with one out. Needing a groundball to get out of the inning, Little got what he was looking for, but after deflecting the ball off his glove, Dansby Swanson didn't have a play as Bobby Dalbec legged out an infield single to make things 5-0. It was just one of those innings where nothing went the Cubs way as Colten Brewer entered the game and allowed a bases clearing double to Rafaela to push the lead to 8-0, with an RBI groundout making things 9-0. Five of those six runs were charged to Little, who simply couldn't get anyone out. The Cubs knew this was one of those games where pitchers had to take one for the team, which Brewer did in the seventh as he allowed a two-run blast to Rafaela in the seventh to see the Red Sex lead grow to 11-0. Rafaela had a game to remember, as he went a perfect 4-4 at the plate with seven RBIs. With the Cubs offense completely stalling out after the second inning, Counsell elected to go with Mervis on the mound for the eighth inning as he wanted to save some of his arms later in this tough stretch. Anytime a position player pitches, you never know what you will get, but this was one of those times when the offense was ready to do some damage. Mervis did manage to pick up two outs, but he was also charged with six earned runs as the Red Sox opened up a 17-0 lead. Masataka Yoshida started the scoring with an RBI double, while David Hamilton, Pablo Reyes, Dalbec, and Rafaela added RBIs in that half of the eighth. With only three outs standing between the Cubs and a shutout loss, Boston countered with a position player of their own on the mound as Reyes was called on to pitch the ninth. If the Cubs were going to score, this would be their chance as a single from Michael Busch, followed by an Alexander Canario walk, put two runners on and one out. That was as close as the Cubs would get as Reyes got Mervis and Gomes to both fly out to end the game to cap off the shutout win. Gomes based the Cubs offense with two hits, with PCA, Busch, and Morel adding the rest.
