Back on Track: Cubs blank Rockies |
CHICAGO - Despite their struggles over the past 13 games, and there have been many of them, the Chicago Cubs (80-74) are still alive in the Wild Card picture. With eight games remaining in the regular season, the Cubs are holding on to that third and final wild card spot as they lead the Marlins by just .5 games.
Had anyone said that this team would be in the playoff with less than 10 games to go at the start of the season, most fans would have signed up, as no one expected them to be in this position. Then, the team started to play so well that they had a chance to win this division entering September until their play went downhill the past two weeks. That run changed the outlook of this season as most fans expected them to make the postseason instead of hoping for them too. All it takes for the Cubs to improve their chances would be to get on a nice winning streak, but with the Braves and Brewers lingering on the schedule, a long winning streak may be out of the question. They can, however, keep the pressure on the Miami Marlins this weekend as the Cubs opened their final home Series of the season against the NL Worst Colorado Rockies (56-97) at Wrigley Field on Friday afternoon. Keep in mind that this is the same Rockies team that took two of three from the Cubs last week and came very close to sweeping them, as this is a much-needed series win for the Cubs. After dropping two rough games to the Pirates in their previous Series, the Cubs got off to a great start this weekend by taking care of the Rockies 6-0. With the Cubs shuffling their rotation around earlier this week, right-hander Jameson Taillon was on the mound for what would be his final home start of the season. Despite working through some command issues early in the game and finishing with four walks, Taillon was outstanding as he struck out seven and scattered four hits in six shutout innings, as he did a great job setting the tone in this one. Drew Smyly and Hayden Weseneski followed him as they finished what he started on the mound. Taillon did walk a pair in the first inning, but also struck out three to avoid any damage, as that was the best scoring chance the Rockies had off of him. The same can be said about Noah Davis, who was making his fourth career MLB start. Not only did he walk Mike Tauchman and Ian Happ, but he also hit Cody Bellinger as the Cubs loaded the bases with one out. A Seiya Suzuki single gave the Cubs a 1-0 lead, but Happ was thrown out at home on a great throw from Nolan Jones as the Cubs held a 1-0 lead after one. Like in the first, the Rockies had a chance to get something done off of Taillon as a two-out single from Brendan Rodgers was their first hit of the game, with Jones walking for the second time in as many at-bats. Once again, Taillon was coming through with a massive out as he got Kris Bryant to fly out to end another threat without further damage. Colorado continued to keep the pressure on in the fourth with a pair of one-out singles, but once again, it was Taillon standing tall as the Rockies couldn't come up with a big hit against the righty. Like in the first, Suzuki provided all of the early offense for the Cubs as he followed up with the Dansby Swanson walk with a two-run blast to put the Cubs up 3-0. With that homer, Suzuki now has 20 homers and 70 RBIs as he became just the third Japanese-born player in MLB history to post a season like that, joining Hideki Matsui and Shohei Otani. Suzuki continued to play a massive role in the Cubs success as he picked up a one-out single in the sixth to start things off again, with Jared Young following that up with a long homer to right to put the Cubs in front 5-0. That would be all they would need in this one, as Taillon was finished after 101 pitches, with Smyly entering to begin the seventh. In what was almost a carbon copy of the Rockies first inning, Smyly walked both Brenton Doyle and Charlie Blackmon to put a pair of runners on base, but did manage to induce an inning-ending double play. A leadoff hit by a pitch by Tauchman set the Cubs up in the bottom of the seventh as Swanson came through with an RBI single to close out the scoring for either side. Looking to finish the shutout was Wesneski, and he didn't make it easy on himself. A leadoff walk to Ezequiel Tovar doesn't help, but when you get a double play shortly after, it does make you forget about that walk. That double play was a massive play in keeping the shutout intact as Wesneski allowed a double to Doyle shortly after before Blackmon lined out to end the game with the Cubs winning 6-0. With the win, the Cubs retook sole possession of the third wild card spot as they are now in control of their own destiny. Chicago had seven hits in the ball game as Suzuki led the way with three hits and three RBIs. The Cubs will look to clinch a series win tomorrow as they turn to Jordan Wicks to make his final home start of the campaign.
