Class in Session: Hendricks, Hoerner shine in win over Rays |
CHICAGO - Baseball is a funny game, isn't it? After the Chicago Cubs (24-30) got swept by the Cincinnati Reds at home over the weekend, the Cubs knew things were not going to get any easier as they welcomed the MLB Best Tampa Bay Rays (39-18) to Wrigley Field to close out the homestand. When this series began, you didn't like the Cubs chances, and you had to be thinking about a 2-7 or possible 3-6 homestand.
Well, here we are entering the series finale Wednesday afternoon, and the Cubs not only have taken the series from the Rays, but with a 4-4 homestand, they have an opportunity to finish with a winning homestand should they be able to sweep Tampa. In a matchup that pegged the previously unbeaten Shane McClanahan against the Professor Kyle Hendricks, it became a matter of who would break first, especially with Hendricks making just his second start. To his credit, Hendricks battled through some command issues as he finished with three walks and three strikeouts and allowed just one run in five innings before handing it over to the pen. Led by a trio of arms that included Julian Merryweather, Mark Leiter Jr, and Adbert Alzolay, it was Alzolay that stood out as he struck out four in two scoreless frames to earn the save as the Cubs took down the Rays again 2-1. Although this was the first loss of the season for McClanahan, the left-hander was still very good as he got through 5 2/3 innings with seven strikeouts and allowed two runs on six hits. His ERA rose to 2.07 with the loss, but he continues to be one of the best pitchers in the game. You could argue that the game's turning point came in the top of the first when the Rays used singles by Wander Franco and Brandon Lowe to keep the pressure on with a Randy Arozarena walk, putting plenty of traffic on the bases. On the Lowe single, the momentum changed as Dansby Swanson gunned down Franco at the plate to keep the game scoreless. Once the bottom of the first rolled around, Nico Hoerner took just one swing to put the Cubs in front as his leadoff blast off of McClanahan gave the Cubs a 1-0 lead. Nico Hoerner - Chicago Cubs (4) The Cubs kept the pressure on with Ian Happ working a walk and Seiya Suzuki picking up a single, but they were unable to add on, which could have been costly. Tampa Bay kept the pressure on Hendricks in the second and put two more runners on base, only to see an inning-ending double play to prevent them from breaking through. The third inning was the same story, but all that mattered was that Hendricks kept them off the board with the Cubs still holding a 1-0 lead into the fourth. Once the bottom of the fourth arrived, the Cubs hoped to add on as they had McClanahan on the ropes again. Singles from Suzuki and Mike Tauchman put a pair of runners on base with one down, but McClanahan recovered and retired the next two hitters to keep the game 1-0. It took five innings for the Rays to break through, and at this point, they figured out how to get to Hendricks. A one-out single from Francisco Mejia started things off, while the two-out walk from Franco kept the inning alive. That set the stage for MR. Clutch Arozarena and clutch he was as his RBI single brought home the only run of the game for the Rays and ended the day for Hendricks, who suffered a tough-luck no-decision. By the time the sixth inning rolled around, McClanahan was starting to settle in, and you had to wonder if the Cub's previous chances to add on would come back to bite them. Leave it to Happ to end those doubts as he began the bottom of the sixth with a leadoff double to put the Cubs in a great position to take the lead. Three batters later saw Tauchman put together another great at-bat and come through with the go-ahead RBI single as the Cubs retook the lead 2-1. For Tauchman, that was his second consecutive game-winning RBI as McClanahan was done after that, and things were now a battle of the bullpens late. Comparing bullpens, there is no question that Tampa Bay has the advantage, but David Ross went with his two best guys late, with Leiter Jr tossing a scoreless seventh before handing the ball off to Alzolay. All Alzolay did was strike out a pair in the eighth to keep the Cubs in front while their offense had their best scoring chance of the day in the bottom half of the inning. Led by singles from Swanson and Happ to start the inning, the walk to Suzuki loaded the bases with no outs as the Cubs had a chance to bust things open. Credit Trevor Kelley for digging deep as he induced a crucial double play to get one of the runners at home and then worked around another bases-loaded situation to get out of the inning and sent the game to the ninth with the Cubs up 2-1. Winning close games has always been an issue for the Cubs this season, but those issues are nonexistent in this Rays series, with Alzolay going three up and three down in the ninth with two more punchouts to secure the save and other Cubs win. “These are the kind of wins we should be able to start piling on, hopefully,” Cubs manager David Ross said during the postgame interview. The Cubs had eight hits in the game, with Happ, Suzuki, and Tauchman picking up two. The Cubs will go for the sweep Wednesday afternoon when Justin Steele gets the ball against 7-1 Zach Eflin.
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