Cubs fall to Guardians for first sweep of 2024 |
CLEVELAND - Just when you thought the Chicago Cubs (59-63) had all the momentum in the world after playing themselves back into the race, this happens. For the first time in 2024, the Chicago Cubs were swept in a series, and it came at the hands of the Cleveland Guardians (72-49) at Progressive Field in Cleveland.
This is one of those series where you'll look back on it and realize how many missed chances this team had, as the Cubs should've won the game and possibly even the first two games. Instead, they will be heading back home on a three-game losing streak, with this one coming 6-1. It marks the 42nd time the Cubs have scored one run or less this season, which is second in baseball only to the Pittsburgh Pirates, who are at 44. For the second straight start, the Cubs let a pitcher who had no business being in this game in the first place look like Cy Young as Alex Cobb was the beneficiary in this one. Making only his second start of the season after starting the season on the injured list, Cobb was about as dominant as the Guardians could've hoped for as the right-hander scattered three hits in 5 2/3, allowing one run and striking out three. That is similar to what Matthew Boyd did on Tuesday, as the offense struggles were once again full circle. Looking to get back on track was Jameson Taillon, who has seen his mostly strong season start to trend in the wrong direction lately. Taillon wasn't nearly as sharp as he would've liked, giving up four runs in six innings, but with two walks and six strikeouts, he wasn't terrible. His 3.62 is still very good, but with his ERA rising by nearly a run since the beginning of July, you are seeing more of the 2023 version of Taillon as opposed to the one who got off to a great start this season. There were many frustrations this week, stemming from not having a legitimate superstar in the lineup to not having a lockdown closer, which the Guardians rubbed in the face of the Cubs when they used Emmanuel Clase twice, but you also have to look at the way the Cubs started in all three games. Not only did they have the lead in all three games, but they scored first in those games, which continued to be the case on Wednesday. With neither team being able to score in the first three innings, despite the Guardians having the best shot in the second, the Cubs broke through first as a one-out Seiya Suzuki triple set the offense up in a great spot. Suzuki would come home to score on a Cody Bellinger sacrifice fly, but with that being the only run of the game for the Cubs, it was up to Taillon and the rest of the pitching staff to keep the Guardians offense in check. A Seiya triple and a Belli sac fly give the Cubs the lead! pic.twitter.com/MBou7UsQD5 Unfortunately for the Cubs, they couldn't do that as the Guardians came roaring back in the bottom half of the fourth as the leadoff walk to Jose Ramirez was followed by a Josh Naylor double to bring things back to even 1-1. Naylor scored two batters later on the Andres Gimenez single to put the Guardians in front 2-1, as that went down as the game-winning hit. It was also the start of plenty of big things for the Cleveland offense as they scored four times across the next two innings to open up a 4-1 lead. The Guardians kept the pressure on in the bottom of the fifth, when a Steven Kwan single was followed by a Will Brennan triple, and just like that, this was a 3-1 game. Brennan scored a few pitches later on the Ramirez grounder to extend the lead to 4-1 before Taillon escaped without further damage and closed out his outing with those four runs allowed. Struggling to put much of anything together off of Cobb, the Cubs had one of their better-scoring chances in the top of the sixth as a pair of two-out walks from Michael Busch, and Suzuki had the Cubs in a great position only to come away empty. If they thought scoring on Cobb was tough, try doing that against the best bullpen in the National League as the Cleveland pen took over the rest of the way. Take away Monday night, when the Cubs did a great job handling the Guardians pen. They haven't been able to do much against the Cleveland relievers, which continued into Wednesday when the Cubs managed just two hits off the Guardians pen. One of those hits was a Patrick Wisdom leadoff double to begin the eighth, only to have the Cubs waste another scoring chance. With Taillon out of the game after six, it was up to the Cubs pen to post zeroes the rest of the way, and with Tyson Miller throwing a scoreless seventh, the Cubs pen was on pace to keep things close. Then came the eighth when the Guardians not only tacked on but did it against Julian Merryweather, who continues to struggle since returning from the IL. As if a leadoff walk wasn't bad enough, try hitting a batter two hitters later, as the Guardians had a pair of runners on with one out. It only got worse for Merryweather as Gimenez drove in the final nail in the Cubs coffin with his RBI double to push the lead to 6-1. Gimenez had a great night at the plate as he led the way for Cleveland with three RBIs in the win. Chicago was held to five hits from five different players in the loss, as its offense continues to be inconsistent at best. The Cubs will now get the day off on Thursday before opening a six-game homestand against the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday. "They’ve got as good a record as anybody in baseball right now, but getting swept is no good."
Craig Counsell on getting swept by Cleveland. pic.twitter.com/Egux0Y6RIP
