Fourteen miles south of Alfonso Rivas’ hometown, the Chicago Cubs wanted a clutch hit from the 25-year-old first baseman.
If Rivas felt any stress this week enjoying in entrance of household and buddies at Petco Park, he actually didn’t present it.
One day after connecting on a two-run homer, Rivas had a possibility to salvage a victory for the Cubs in Wednesday’s sequence ultimate after the bullpen squandered a late lead. Rivas hit a two-run single with the bases loaded within the eighth inning to interrupt the tie. Right-hander Rowan Wick’s two-inning save secured the Cubs’ 7-5 win.
The Cubs took two of three in San Diego for his or her first sequence win since opening weekend in opposition to the Milwaukee Brewers. Manager David Ross lauded Rivas’ strategy.
“He’s really handling the moment well,” Ross mentioned. “He’s got such a calm demeanor about him and that’s why he looks so smooth at first and in the box. There’s not a lot to his swing. He’s just trying to put the barrel on the ball.”
The Cubs, nonetheless, can’t appear to keep away from accidents these days. Left-handed reliever Sean Newcomb on Wednesday turned the thirteenth participant on the injured listing with a left ankle sprain suffered within the outfield Sunday throughout batting observe.
Losing shortstop Nico Hoerner for any notable time could be powerful to beat, particularly defensively. Hoerner was recognized with a proper ankle sprain after exiting the sport within the backside of the second inning. Initial imaging didn’t reveal any damaged bones, although the swelling round his ankle should lower earlier than the Cubs can decide the severity. Ross believes Hoerner can be OK after a few days off.
Hoerner collided with second-base umpire Dan Iassogna in shallow right-center area throughout Jurickson Profar’s triple within the first inning.
Hoerner, shifted in shallow proper for the at-bat, began working to his place because the cutoff man whereas Iassogna started transferring towards shallow heart to get a clearer view of Jason Heyward’s play on the ball. Iassogna and Hoerner by no means noticed one another whereas watching the ball, ensuing of their toes getting tangled and knocking each to the bottom.
Via a pool reporter, Iassogna mentioned his collision with Hoerner was the primary time that occurred within the outfield throughout his profession. Iassogna’s task because the second-base umpire requires him to exit towards the ball so he can decide whether or not it’s a catch, dwelling run or something in between.
He spoke with Ross to see how Hoerner was doing and deliberate to test on him after the sport. Iassogna hopes Hoerner gained’t land on the injured listing due to the play.
“I’m always trying to do the same thing. I’m seeing the ball and trying to pick up the fielder,” Iassogna mentioned. “When I made my preliminary look I didn’t see anyone. I believed I had an open street after which we backed into one another.
“I didn’t know who it was or what happened until I looked down and saw it was him.”
Hoerner initially remained within the sport, putting out within the high of the second. Ildemaro Vargas changed him when the Cubs returned to the sector for the underside of the inning. When the damage occurred, Hoerner initially wasn’t optimistic, however he felt higher after getting therapy on the ankle throughout the sport.
“In the shift and things like that sometimes we’re in different places than people are used to,” Hoerner mentioned. “I was watching the ball just like the umpire was and I was on the ground before I really realized what happened. We’re doing our jobs and weird things happen sometimes.”
Willson Contreras’ robust begin continued with an opposite-field solo dwelling run within the first inning. The Cubs tacked on 4 runs within the third because of Patrick Wisdom (RBI single), Frank Schwindel (two-run double to cap an 11-pitch at-bat) and Jason Heyward (RBI single) coming via with runners on base in opposition to Padres starter Nick Martinez.
Home runs by Eric Hosmer and Luke Voit, the latter’s second of the sport, in seventh arrange the necessity for Rivas’ huge hit the subsequent inning.
“You have a plan, you have an approach and stick to that, don’t really freak out or anything that,” Rivas mentioned. “That’s what I was really trying to hammer down, and I got a good pitch to hit.”
Keegan Thompson acquired the cellphone name round 11 p.m. Tuesday to study he was getting the beginning for the Cubs bullpen sport. He caught to his typical warmup routine, not eager to deviate from what has been working for him. Thompson held the Padres to 2 runs in 4 innings.
“I started with the same mindset as a bullpen outing,” Thompson mentioned. “I don’t want to change something up today for one outing.”
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Source: www.bostonherald.com