The Chicago Cubs have been in prime place to finish a horrible May on a constructive notice, threatening to ship the Tampa Bay Rays to their first sequence sweep of the season.
With a time off Thursday earlier than a 10-game West Coast journey, a win over the mighty Rays would’ve been purpose to imagine the Cubs’ extended stretch of unhealthy baseball was behind them.
But a pair of late two-run homers off Mark Leiter Jr. gave the Rays a 4-3 comeback win in entrance of a sun-baked crowd of 29,360 at Wrigley Field, and an damage to Cubs starter Justin Steele made the day a complete loss.
Steele was eliminated after three innings with left forearm tightness, a transfer the left-hander labeled precautionary.
“I’m really not too concerned about it,” Steele stated, including his forearm was “throbbing” after the second inning. But he went out to pitch the third.
“Radar went way up, obviously,” supervisor David Ross stated. “The trainers, they felt snug, after which watched him pumping the hand and stretching the forearm a bit bit. Went out and checked on him (within the third). He stated he didn’t really feel it in any respect — no tingling or something like that — so I let him end.
“The more I watched him throw, the more nervous I got … so for precautionary reasons I pulled him.”
The Cubs want Steele within the rotation in the event that they hope to contend, although nobody appeared to imagine the tightness would result in a extra severe subject.
“I think he’s all right,” left fielder Ian Happ stated. “He did a good job. Have to be cautious with him. He’s really important for us and we need him the rest of the season.”
Steele held the Rays hitless by means of three innings, and the one hit off reliever Hayden Wesneski heading into the seventh was Manuel Margot’s fifth-inning grounder that shortstop Dansby Swanson bobbled earlier than making a late throw to first.
Leading 2-0 within the seventh, Ross changed Wesneski with Leiter to face the left-handed-hitting Brandon Lowe after a two-out stroll.
“We had a mapped-out plan,” Ross stated. “He had given us what we wanted. I assumed he threw the ball nice. His power is towards righties, and Leiter’s is towards lefties.
“Trying to match up strength on strength, knowing we’ve only got 2⅓ innings to cover. He hung a split to Lowe that ended up in the jet stream.”
Lowe’s two-run blast tied the sport at 2-2. After Trey Mancini’s pinch RBI single within the backside of the inning gave the Cubs the lead once more, Ross despatched Leiter again out for the eighth.
Leiter walked leadoff hitter Taylor Walls and went 2-0 on Jose Siri, prompting a mound go to from pitching coach Tommy Hottovy.
Two pitches later, Siri cranked one other two-run homer to heart, placing the Rays up 4-3.
The Cubs had the tying run on third with one out within the eighth when ex-Cub Jason Adam struck out Swanson on a changeup. After a stolen base put the tying and go-ahead runs in scoring place, Adam fell behind Happ 3-0 earlier than catching him taking a look at a sweeper for a known as third strike.
Happ was already on his strategy to first and was shocked by the decision. After wanting on the video, he was adamant he drew a stroll.
“It was a ball,” Happ stated. “I can see that corner really well.”
The Cubs loaded the bases within the ninth with one out however once more couldn’t rating. Jalen Beeks struck out Miles Mastrobuoni earlier than Yan Gomes lined a shot to left on a 3-2 pitch that Randy Arozarena ran down to finish the sport.
“I thought he was going to walk us off there in his 1,000th game,” Ross stated of Gomes. “They were playing in the right position.”
The Cubs (24-31) completed May with a 10-18 file and have been 4½ video games behind division chief Milwaukee getting into the Brewers’ evening recreation in Toronto.
“Three weeks or almost a month of good baseball, and this last month was not our best,” Ross stated. “So it’s like, OK, let’s attempt to begin this new month off the fitting approach and attempt to play our greatest baseball.
“Mentally I stay day to day and don’t look ahead. But turning the chapter on this month kind of feels nice. I’ve got to give my dog her heartworm pill.”
The well being of Ross’ canine apart, the Cubs enter June with a brand new set of challenges and a greater understanding of what they should enhance to get to the postseason, a aim that appeared believable in late April.
A yr in the past the Cubs have been 20-29 getting into June and 11 video games out of first. A ten-game shedding streak that started June 4 put them out of their distress and made the ultimate three-plus months irrelevant to something however auditioning gamers for 2023.
Even if the Cubs handle to contend into July in a nasty division, President Jed Hoyer may need to swallow laborious and deal a few of his property to construct for the long run.
“Like I tell the boys, we just have to try to (avoid) those big losing streaks,” reliever Adbert Alzolay stated. “I really feel just like the final two years, that’s the factor that’s been affecting us. After enjoying a extremely good month after which going two weeks shedding video games by one run, you see issues begin shifting a bit bit.
“It’s keeping the same energy from the get-go. We have a great group of guys in this locker room and I feel like we have the talent to compete. As a team we haven’t been on the same page every day, hitting or pitching (at the same time). It’s part of building this new chemistry we have with all the new players we have here. I feel like we’re close to where we’re supposed to be.”
Closer, maybe.
But nonetheless not the place they need to be two months into the season.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com