Fly the W: Cubs break out the brooms in sweep of Orioles |
BALTIMORE — Oh, how sweep it is. Dare I say the Chicago Cubs (45-49) are back, or at the very least, have they finally woken up from what seemed like a three-month coma? Facing off against one of the best teams in the league, the Baltimore Orioles (57-36), the Cubs had a chance to sweep the Orioles, which seemed like an impossible task when the series began.
It's hard enough to pick up a sweep at Camden Yards, but try doing that without trailing a single inning. That is what the Cubs looked to accomplish on Thursday as they turned to their road warrior Justin Steele, who was coming off his first complete game as a pro. Had the weather not been as hot as it was, there is an excellent chance Steele would've gone the distance again, as he needed less than 75 pitches to get through seven innings. Who has the lowest ERA in @MLB since May 27? He walked none and struck out four while allowing four hits as the Cubs capped off a massive sweep with an 8-0 victory. The win not only gives the Cubs four straight and six of their last seven, but three of those wins have come via the shutout as they have gone 36 consecutive innings without trailing. I don't care who you are playing; playing 36 straight innings without trailing is challenging, no matter who you are facing. Facing off against Albert Suarez, who entered the game with an ERA below 2.65, Chicago continued their offensive surge heading into the break, as this is the type of play many were expecting from them this season. No one will overreact after just four games, but if the Cubs can continue playing like this, there is a good chance they can avoid selling at the deadline, as the Wild Card is very much up for grabs. Suarez wasn't as sharp as Steele, going five innings and allowing four runs, but the offense was a struggle for both sides in the early innings, with the Seiya Suzuki third-inning double providing the game's only run through four. Seiya's double puts us on the board first. 👇 pic.twitter.com/eQuTCJEQ40 Pair that with Steele retiring the first 11 hitters he faced, and things were looking good for the Cubs as the two-out double from Ryan Mountcastle was the only base runner for the Orioles through the game's first four innings. Although Suarez was pitching well enough to win, things began to unravel for him in the fifth as the Cubs offense continued their relentless approach and began to create some separation. That all started with a pair of one-out hits from Tomas Nido and Nico Hoerner, only to have Michael Busch deliver a double to extend the Cubs lead to 3-0. Michael Busch stays HOT 🥵 pic.twitter.com/cWcgAevpv7 Busch has now reached base in 28 consecutive starts as he has to be firmly in the middle of the Rookie of the Year conversation. Busch would come home to score later in the inning off another Suzuki double as those two combined for all the Cubs offense in their 4-0 lead. With Steele only throwing 52 pitches through five innings, a 4-0 lead felt like a 10-0 lead as the Orioles had a long night ahead of them. Their night became even longer in the sixth when Dansby Swanson unloaded on a Cole Irvin heater and drove it out of the park to dead center to extend the Cubs lead to 5-0. Swanson caps off a MASSIVE 7th inning! pic.twitter.com/BQ0TndZRJb #Cubs Dansby Swanson hits his 9th homer of the season. pic.twitter.com/dlLlQ7FXEO As if one three-run inning wasn't bad enough for the Orioles, why not make it two as the Cubs continued to keep the pressure on in the seventh? This time, a leadoff single from Hoerner got things started before he was erased on a fielder's choice. That didn't bother the Cubs, as Suzuki picked up his third extra-base hit of the night with an RBI triple before coming home on the Ian Happ double, and just like that, this was a 7-0 Cubs lead. Two batters later, the hit parade continued with Swanson cashing in for his second RBI of the game off a single as the Cubs opened up an 8-0 lead. That would be all for their offense, but they didn't need anymore as Steele pitched around another double in the seventh to finish his outing with seven scoreless before handing things off to the bullpen. Looking to finish the job before heading to St. Louis, Drew Smyly made quick work of the Orioles in the eighth before the former Oriole Jorge Lopez got the ball in the ninth. This was the only time in the game where it looked as if the Orioles were going to break through, as a two-out walk was followed by the Jordan Westburg double, and the Orioles had a pair of runners in scoring position. They wouldn't get any closer as Lopez got Austin Hays to ground out to end the game as the Cubs capped off a massive sweep 8-0. Cubs s[W]eep the Orioles in Baltimore 🧹 pic.twitter.com/fZjjVIMdGC With the win, Steele improves to 2-3 on the season, lowering his ERA to 2.71. Offensively, the Cubs pounded out 13 hits for their third consecutive double-digit hit game as Suzuki led the way with three hits and three RBIs. Hoerner, Busch, Swanson, and Miles Mastrobuoni added multi-hit games for the Cubs, with Busch picking up two RBIs. Bring out the brooms. 🧹 Don’t let the Cubbies get hot. pic.twitter.com/9dvlFS6Ql8 The word is out 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/jXAUfMhjB2 “We need series like this really to get back into this thing.” Seiya Suzuki becomes the first Cub since Anthony Rizzo in 2016 with 2 doubles, a triple and an RBI in a game. #Cubs pic.twitter.com/mCuzpKArmQ “We’re hot. Winning ball games feels good.”
asking for a friend. 🙃 pic.twitter.com/Vxerkribjt
Steele: 7.0IP, 3H, 0R, 4K's
Suzuki: 3-5, 3B, 2 2B, 3RBI, R
Busch: 2-4, 2 2B, BB, 2RBI, 3R pic.twitter.com/YZLdp1RbKi
Craig Counsell on fighting in the playoff race. pic.twitter.com/bZNO37CG3Z
Justin Steele on the Cubs’ hot streak. pic.twitter.com/v8fAB8fp0a
