Lopez struggles as Pirates halt Cubs winning streak at six |
CHICAGO - It's almost comical how often the Chicago Cubs (71-67) have had to face the Pittsburgh Pirates (64-73), two best starters in Jared Jones and Paul Skenes. After seeing them both last week in Pittsburgh and now again at Wrigley Field this week, the Cubs have had to face one, if not both, of them during every series this season.
For the most part, they have been able to handle Jones, but at some point, you had to wonder if he was due for a great outing against this team. Although it would've been nice to keep the train rolling and pick up a third straight sweep, most fans realize it is nearly impossible to sweep a team twice in one week. However, banking as many wins as possible against teams you should beat is something that has to happen, and the Cubs were in a great position to do that again in this one. Leading 3-0 entering the eighth, Jorge Lopez was called on to keep the Cubs in front as he has done most of the season. Looking at his game log, Lopez entered Monday with only two earned runs allowed during his time with the Cubs, with one coming in July and the other in August. This was not one of his better outings, and it was the worst time for him to have his worst outing of the year with the Cubs. Lopez surrendered a pair of eighth-inning homers and was charged with four earned runs as the Pirates battled back against the Cubs pen to pick up a 5-3 win. For how hot this offense has been, seeing them struggle that much was a surprise, but Wrigley has been a tough place to hit all season, and the weather conditions have continued that trend. Three innings into the game, the Pirates had the only baserunners, with Jared Triolo leading off the third with a single before an error put two runners on. Jameson Taillon managed to pitch out that jam to keep the Pirates off the board, as he was as good as he has been at any point this season, going seven shutout innings with three strikeouts. Looking for their first hit of the game in the bottom of the third, Dansby Swanson obliged as he connected for another homer to put the Cubs in front 1-0. After flirting close to the Mendoza line most of the season, Swanson has been on quite a tear recently, as his average is creeping close to .240. Ian Happ would add a single later in the inning, but the Cubs couldn't add to their lead. Like Taillon, Jones was also excellent as he pitched into the seventh before being removed. However, he was charged with three earned runs to leave trailing 3-0 as his other two runs allowed came in the fifth. It all started with another Swanson hit as his one-out single gave the Cubs another baserunner. He would advance to second on a Pete Crow-Armstrong hit by pitch only to have Happ cash in with a massive two-out triple to push the Cubs lead to 3-0. Those were the game's final runs for the Cubs, but given how well Taillon pitched and with the bullpen continuing to do their job, win no. 7 was within reach. Had the Cubs been able to tack on during the seventh after a leadoff Nico Hoerner double chased Jones, there is a good chance they wouldn't even go with Lopez in the eighth, but Craig Counsell decided to go with him. Although he has been about as good as anyone in the game since July, Lopez did injure his groin on the last road trip and didn't pitch much. Even when he had an opportunity to see game action, he looked uncomfortable, which continued to be the case in this one. Lopez allowed a pair of singles to Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Nick Gonzalez to begin the eighth, as he was already facing a challenging situation. Things only got tougher from there as Bryan Reynolds erased the Cubs 3-0 lead with one swing as he belted his 22nd homer to tie things up 3-3. Two batters later saw the long ball come into play again as Andrew McCutchen took his turn to leave the yard, and just like that, the Pirates had the lead 4-3. Lopez managed to get out of the inning without further damage, but the damage was done as the Cubs now had to go through Aroldis Chapman. With this still sitting at 4-3 in the ninth, the newest Cub pitcher, Shawn Armstrong, took the ball in the ninth, and after walking the first hitter he faced, the Pirates were again in position to do damage. Armstrong wasn't as sharp as the Cubs needed him to be, but he also wasn't helped either as a Gonzalez single turned into a triple off an error, which led to another run scoring to extend the lead to 5-3. Down to their final three outs, the Cubs' hopes of winning a seventh straight game were quickly diminishing. After going three and out in the ninth, it was the Pirates who ended the Cubs' streak at six with a 5-3 win. Chicago now sits 3.5 games behind Atlanta for the final Wild Card spot, as they have no room for error the rest of the way. On a more sour note, it was announced that Kyle Hendricks will take the ball on Tuesday to face Skenes again. Hendricks was lit up last week at Pittsburgh for the shortest of his career, so seeing him get the ball was a surprise. The worst news came from why he is starting as the expected starter Justin Steele was scratched due to elbow pain.
