Welcome Back Nico Hoerner: Cubs walk-off Braves in extras |
CHICAGO — It has been a long time since the Chicago Cubs (27-22) lineup was at full strength, April 15 to be exact, but that was about to change against the Atlanta Braves (27-18) at Wrigley Field Tuesday night. Not only was Dansby Swanson activated from the IL, but Nico Hoerner also returned from a few days off, as the Cubs lineup was at full strength for the first time in over a month.
Given the team's issues with scoring runs right now, this couldn't have come at a better time, and with the wind howling out at 30 MPH, this was as good of a time as ever for the offense to put up some crooked numbers. Instead, this game became a pitcher's duel and one that only saw two homers, both from Atlanta, as this one came down to extras. It may not have been pretty, but with the game on the line, you want Hoerner at the plate, which was the case in the bottom of the 10th. Whether you hit the ball 110 MPH or 25 MPH, a single will go in the box score as a single, and Hoerner delivered a much-needed walk-off single in the bottom of the 10th to lift the Cubs past Atlanta 4-3. For the second time in less than a week, the fans were treated to a Javier Assad vs. Charlie Morton matchup on the mound, which didn't bode well when you looked at the conditions. Assad pitched arguably the best start of his career against the Braves last time out, while Morton put together what could be his worst start of the season. This was one of those games where neither starter was on top of his game, as command issues were a thing from both guys, with Assad walking five and Morton walking six. Morton managed to get through five innings, while Assad pitched just 4 2/3 and had to work around significant trouble all night. To his credit, Assad did a great job of limiting the damage by allowing a pair of homers to bring home all three runs before the Cubs bullpen was lights out. The first of those homers came in the second inning as a leadoff error set the Braves offense up before Orlando Arcia connected for a long drive to center to make things 2-0. Assad was far from out of the woods, yet a walk to Zack Short and the Jarred Kelenic double had the Braves on the verge of breaking things open only to have Assad escape trouble. Given the weather conditions, no lead would be safe in this one and it was the Cubs turn to put the pressure on in the bottom of the second. That all started with a one-out hit by pitch to Michael Busch before the Swanson single put two runners on. Miguel Amaya followed that up with a walk to load the bases before a Mike Tauchman single pulled the Cubs within 2-1. Two batters later saw the Cubs tie things up as Swanson scampered home on a passed ball to make things 2-2. After both pitchers had an easy third inning on the mound, the long ball continued to be the offense for the Braves, with Michael Harris II leading off the top of the fourth with a solo shot to put the Braves back in front 3-2. That would be the game's final run for Atlanta as Assad worked around back-back jams in the fourth and fifth innings to keep things close before handing things over to Tyson Miller and the pen. One of the Cubs' most significant issues has been leaving guys on base all season. After a Swanson double and an Amaya walk, the Cubs had two on and one out, only to come away empty again. Chicago would then add a two-out double in the bottom of the fifth from Ian Happ, only to have Morton finish things off to keep the Braves in front. That was it for Morton on the mound as this became a battle of the bullpens in the sixth. Despite the struggles of the pen most of the season, things have started to round into form for the Cubs in recent weeks, and this was one of those games where you saw that. It came after Tauchman tied things up with his second RBI single, as this was 3-3 entering the seventh. Tauchman drives in his second RBI of the night to tie the ballgame! pic.twitter.com/adbgVFWCTP The top of the seventh was the critical moment for either side as Miller hit Ozzie Albies to lead things off before allowing a Marcell Ozuna single, signaling the call to Mark Leiter Jr. Of all the relievers this season, Leiter Jr. has been by far the best for the Cubs, and that continued Tuesday as he came in to strike out three straight hitters to keep the game tied. That was followed by perfect eighth and ninth innings from Hayden Wesneski and Hector Neris, as this game was ticketed for extra innings. In the 10th, the Braves made a rare mistake that proved costly in the end. With Luke Little on the mound, Ozuna had a tough time on the bases. He chose not to advance on a grounder back to Little but instead tried to advance on a ball hit to Swanson, who quickly threw to third for the out. Little retired the next hitter he faced, and it was up to Aaron Bummer to keep things tied. Walking Christopher Morel was an interesting start to the inning, but you could see the thought process with Happ struggling as much as he has. Bummer made the pitch he needed to make to Happ as he grounded a potential double-play ball to Arcia, only to beat the throw on the other end. That was the key to the whole inning as Hoerner came to bat with runners on the corners and one out and came through with an infield single to lift the Cubs to the 4-3 walk-off win. “Obviously I wanted to get a ball out of the infield there and score the run,” Hoerner said after the win. “But get to two strikes and just want to put a ball in play first. Fortunate where it went, and Cubs win.” Welcome back, @nico_hoerner! CUBS WIN! pic.twitter.com/HC5hgtdh6s Tauchman and Swanson paced the Cubs with two hits, with Tauchman driving in two. The win marked Little's first career win, which he will forever cherish. Chicago will look for a rare series win against the Braves on Wednesday, as this will be a battle of lefties in Justin Steele vs. Max Freid. Add another to the W column! “The way they limited offense is awesome.”
Hoerner: Game-winning RBI
Tauchman: 2 H, 2 RBI
Cubs ‘pen: 5.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 6 K pic.twitter.com/Ua1k95RxZy
The Cubs bullpen allowed 0 ER over 5.1 IP! pic.twitter.com/KxKLeNGEW7
