Cubs let one slip away against Mets |
NEW YORK - Apparently, the phrase don't fix it if it isn't broken doesn't apply to David Ross and the Chicago Cubs (59-56), as their lineup was broken on Wednesday. Looking to take the series against the New York Mets (52-62) at Citi Field, Ross put together a very questionable lineup that disgusted most fans.
Not only was Mike Tauchman out of the lineup, but so was Nick Madrigal, as they have been a big reason for the Cub's recent success. It is understandable to give guys off occasionally, but with an off day Thursday and two more next week, this seemed like a strange move from the start. That meant Kyle Hendricks would have to be on top of his game after having one of his worst starts last time out. To his credit, he was better this time, allowing two runs and striking out six across five innings of work. However, a horrendous outing from Hayden Wesneski saw the Mets grab the lead in the middle innings as the Cubs had to play catch-up late. Trailing by two in the ninth, Seiya Suzuki led things off with a homer to pull within one before the Cubs loaded the bases against Phil Bickford. With Ian Happ at that plate and an opportunity to take the lead, Bickford dug his heels in and struck out Happ to end the game as the Cubs dropped their first series in seven tries 4-3. This was a golden opportunity to keep pace with Milwaukee as you they can look back on this as a series they gave away. There was no Justin Verlander or Max Scherzer pitching in this series, yet they still struggled to hit the ball against mediocre pitching. Today, the southpaw David Peterson took the ball as he toed the rubber with an ERA north of 6.00. For whatever reason, Peterson has been known to have great games against this Cubs team and was off to a solid start before being pulled after just 3 2/3. Peterson did find himself trailing one pitch into the game as Christopher Morel unloaded on the first pitch he saw to give the Cubs a quick 1-0 lead. That was a sign of what would come in the early innings as Suzuki returned to the lineup to rip a one-out triple in the second before coming home on a passed ball to give the Cubs a 2-0 lead. Sadly, that was the bulk of their offense for much of this game, as their offense picked a lousy series to fizzle out, especially when you look at how hot they have been. Given an early lead, Hendricks was doing typical Hendricks things as he allowed just two base runners in three innings, with one coming via a Pete Alonso walk and the other a Rafael Ortega hit. After working around a pair of third-inning walks, Peterson found himself in trouble again in the fourth, with Suzuki and Jeimer Candelario coming through with a pair of two-out singles only to have Grant Hartwig enter the game and put out the fire. Throughout this entire series, the Mets have had one table setter and one guy that single-handedly beat the Cubs this week. The table setter was Francisco Lindor, whose leadoff single to begin the fourth was just what the doctor ordered. That set the stage for the Polar Bear Pete Alonso, who already had a massive series under his belt. After walking in his first appearance, Ross had an opportunity to walk him again but elected to go after him. That backfired in his face as Alonso would homer for the third straight night and fourth time in this series to bring things back to even 2-2. Talk about letting one man beat you throughout a series. Everyone knew the Cubs should walk him in that situation, but they chose not to for whatever reason. One inning after giving up the lead, the Cubs right-hander found himself in even more trouble as the Mets started a two-out rally. Brandon Nimmo and Francisco Alvarez got things started with a pair of singles while the Lindor walk loaded things up. That brought Alonso back to the plate as he looked to break the hearts of Cubs fans again. This time, Hendricks won the battle as he got out of the bases-loaded jam with the game still tied. In what was now a battle of the bullpens, Ross went with Wesneski in the sixth, and it wasn't a great night for him. Not only did Jeff McNeil homer to start things off and give the Mets the lead for good, but an Abraham Almonte double followed that up as New York was in business to tack on. They would do just that as Jonathan Arauz drove him the game-winning run via an RBI single as the Mets took a 4-2 lead over the Cubs. Wesneski was done after that as Jose Cuas came in to clean up his mess and delivered. Needing some late-game offense, the Cubs put a pair of runners on base against Trevor Gott in the seventh, only to come away empty-handed. The same can be said for Cuas in the bottom of the seventh as he walked a pair of Mets before Julian Merryweather came in to stop the bleeding. Down to their final three outs and still trailing by a pair, the Cubs needed offense in a hurry, and that would have to come against Adam Ottavino. Not only was Suzuki up to the challenge, but he delivered as he smoked a solo shot over the fence for his third hit of the night to pull the Cubs within 4-3. That homer was followed by a Candelario single and the Mike Tauchman walk, as the winning run was on first base with no one out. The key at-bat in the inning was Madrigal dropping down a sacrifice to move both runners up 90 feet. While the concept may have been great, doing it with a player whose strikeout rate is 32% hitting behind him is not a great idea, as Morel struck out and had the Cubs on the verge of coming away empty-handed. Fortunately, Nico Hoerner extended the inning with a walk, but that was it for the Cubs as Bickford struck out Happ to end the game and stole the series from the Cubs. Suzuki showed up in his return to the lineup and paced the offense with three hits. Candelario added two more hits as they combined for five of the team's seven total hits. The Cubs will now enjoy one of their three off days in the next seven days before heading north of the border to take on the Blue Jays for a three-game set this weekend. Javier Assad is expected to make that start, as it was announced that Drew Smyly was being moved to the pen.
