Gomes clutch as Cubs rally for series win |
DETROIT - It has been a long time since the Chicago Cubs (66-60) can say they finished Interleague play. The conclusion of Wednesday's contest against the Detroit Tigers (58-69) at Comerica Park marked the end of another Interleague season, as the Cubs did indeed come away with a winning record this season.
That included a 10-6 record against the AL Central, but many of those wins didn't come easy. Even with some of the worst teams in the MLB residing in that league, the Cubs had to scratch and claw for every one of their wins, which shows how close some of these teams are to each other. Wednesday was another instance of how a few plays can change the outcome of a game as the Cubs grabbed an early lead and let it get away before coming away with a pair of clutch runs late to secure the 6-4 win and series victory. Jameson Taillon was on the hill for the Cubs, and this outing brings a new meaning to frustration. For the most part, Taillon has been one of the Cubs better and more consistent starters since the early part of July, and that has continued into August. Sure, he had one clunker against the Blue Jays, but the right-hander continues to do whatever the Cubs need of him, which is essential this late in the season. Taillon was about as locked in as possible through five innings as he held the Tigers scoreless while striking out five. Like in so many of his outings this season, Taillon ultimately came undone in one inning as he served up a Grand Slam in the sixth to take away what was otherwise an excellent outing. That sums up how things have gone for Taillon this season, as some poor luck has led to his results. Tarik Skubal, on the other hand, was not at his best, as the Cubs not only jumped on him early but got to him often. Like Taillon, Skubal allowed four runs, with all of those runs coming early in the game. That allowed him to settle in as things went on as he struck out seven in six innings of work for the Tigers. Cody Bellinger has range. pic.twitter.com/97hFXpw4wX With the score knotted 0-0 in the second, the Cubs offense struck first, which is all you can ask for at this point in the season. One of the hottest hitters in the lineup is Seiya Suzuki, whose one-out double set the Cubs offense up in a good spot. Two batters later, the former Tiger Jeimer Candelario came through with another big knock as his RBI double put the Cubs in front 1-0. The Candyman delivers! Considering how dialed-in Taillon looked in the early innings, you had to think it would only take a few runs for the Cubs to post a victory, and they continued to add to their lead in the third. A one-out single from Nico Hoerner, followed by a Dansby Swanson walk, set the Cubs offense up, but with two outs, they were in danger of not scoring. Leave it to team MVP Cody Bellinger to ensure that wouldn't happen as he laced an RBI single to plate a pair and extended the Cubs lead to 3-0. Cody Bellinger is hitting .331 against LHP this season! pic.twitter.com/bVfdA5P4ZP In the fourth inning, it was the same story for the Cub's offense as Yan Gomes started things off with a line drive single that hit Skubal on the mound. He would shake things off and remained in the game, but the Nick Madrigal single with two outs extended the Cubs lead to 4-0. Throughout the first five innings, Taillon was near perfect as he faced just one hitter above the minimum and had the Tigers guessing. Looking to keep that going in the sixth, it was Detroit that had other ideas as singles from Andy Ibanez, Jake Rogers and Akil Baddoo loaded the bases with no outs and had the Tigers offense in business. With Taillon retiring the next two hitters, he was on the verge of working out of that jam, only to see Kerry Carpenter unload for a game-tying Grand Slam. That was also the end of the road for Taillon as Michael Rucker and the Cubs pen came in to extinguish the fire. Like the Cubs, it was time for the Tigers to go to their pen in the seventh as Beau Brieske tossed a scoreless frame in the seventh. Rucker did his best to match that, but after a pair of walks to set the Tiger's offense up, David Ross went to his fireballer Julian Merryweather, who closed out the seventh without allowing a run. That seemed to be the momentum shift the Cubs needed as their offense started to show signs of life again in the eighth after going silent for four innings. Happ has been scuffling the past month and has seen his average dip below .240. A one-out single in the eighth will hopefully be the start of something big for him as he represented the go-ahead run. Two batters later saw Suzuki take a walk to keep the inning alive before the massive Gomes single put the Cubs back in front for good 5-4. Not to worry, we brought Gas Money to Detroit. 🤝@Yan_AGomes pic.twitter.com/nBrNxOL3Xr It was a much-needed hit for Gomes, and that proved to be the game-winning knock. The Cubs continued to do damage late in the game off the Tigers pen, with Candelario leading things off with a walk followed by a Christopher Morel single. With Madrigal sacrificing himself to move both runners up, it was Hoerner coming through with a sacrifice fly to give the Cubs a 6-4 lead. Looking to close things out in the ninth for his 19th save, Adbert Alzolay took the ball and immediately found himself in trouble. Not only did he walk Parker Meadows, but Zach McKinstry followed that up with a single as the tying runs were on base with one out. That was as close as things would get as Alzolay bounced back nicely to slam the door and gave the Cubs a 6-4 win. Adbert Alzolay leads MLB in saves since July 1! pic.twitter.com/FXbOeb2PV1
1-0 Cubbies. pic.twitter.com/gGgpLI6xiE
