Fly the W: Cubs fend off Royals for series win |
CHICAGO - It doesn't matter how you get it, but the Chicago Cubs (64-59) sole purpose right now should be taking two of three in each series. If you do that for a 10-game stretch, you go 6-4, translating into a 96-win season. I don't know about you, but 96 wins is a great season and will often lead to a playoff berth.
With a very winnable 12-game stretch, the Cubs have struggled a bit more than most expected but have done what they have needed to do. Despite dropping a game in the standings to the Brewers over the weekend, this team is still only three games out and remains in second place in the NL Central. The Cubs capped off a 3-2 homestand at Wrigley Field this week by holding off the pesky Kansas City Royals (40-86) 4-3 on Sunday. Baseball is the one sport where you can throw records out of the window, and this weekend was a prime example of that, as the Royals were more than up to the challenge this weekend. With Kyle Hendricks taking the ball in search of his fifth win, the Professor turned out an excellent performance and set the Cubs up in a position to win. The right-hander pitched into the seventh before David Ross went to his pen as he finished his outing with 6 1/3 innings of one-run ball. Considering the effort that Jordan Lyles put forth on the other end, the Cubs needed this type of performance from Hendricks. Record aside, as Lyles is 3-14 on the season, he continues to give the Royals plenty of length as he pitched all eight innings for Kansas City to provide an overworked bullpen a much-needed break. He may have allowed four runs, but he pitched well enough to win for the most part as he kept his team in the ball game throughout. One thing the Royals don't get enough credit for is how good of a player Bobby Witt Jr is. The 23-year-old SS has been a thorn in the Cub's side all weekend, and after picking up a one-out single in the first ahead of a stolen base, he was once again standing in scoring position. That proved costly for the Cubs as Michael Massey drove him home with an RBI single to give the Royals a quick 1-0 lead. Despite that being the only lead of the day for them, Kansas City scored quickly the entire series, which has to be a concern moving forward for this team. Despite the early deficit, Nico Hoerner and the top of the Cubs order didn't waste any time responding as he reached base on a one-out single to set things up for the offense. Ian Happ kept the line moving as he followed that single with one of his own. There was an error mixed in with that single as Hoerner was able to score from first while Happ motored around to third. That was a massive momentum shift as Cody Bellinger followed that up with a sacrifice fly to give the Cubs the lead for good, 2-1. That score remained intact into the fifth as neither team could get much of anything going in innings 2-4. However, in the fifth, the Royals were threatening, as Hendricks had to face his first significant jam of the game. A one-out walk to Matt Beaty started things off before the MJ Melendez double had runners on second and third with two down. Hendricks managed to escape without any damage, but it didn't come easy as Witt Jr lined out sharply to Seiya Suzuki to end the threat and kept the Cubs in front 2-1. Speaking of Suzuki, his late-season surge continued in the fifth as he pushed across the Cub's third run of the game with a solo shot to extend their lead to 3-1. Seiya Suzuki - Chicago Cubs (12) pic.twitter.com/Q6hiAZai6m
That homer was just what Hendricks needed to pick up the win as he got through the rest of his outing without allowing a run before turning things over to Mark Leiter Jr and the rest of the Cubs pen. Leiter Jr would finish the seventh without any issues before Julian Merryweather came on to work a scoreless eighth and set the Cubs up for another win. Although a 3-1 lead put the Cubs in a good spot, it didn't seem comfortable for whatever reason. Leave it to Miguel Amaya to change that as he connected for his first homer in over a month to extend the Cubs lead to 4-1 entering the ninth. Miguel Amaya - Chicago Cubs (4)
With just three outs remaining, the Cubs turned to Adbert Alzolay in the ninth as he looked to continue his outstanding season. For the most part, Alzolay has been near lights out, but there have been times when he has struggled on the mound. Sunday was one of those days, as he nearly blew that three-run lead which goes to show you how vital add-on runs can be. Alzolay didn't do himself any favors as he hit Nelson Velazquez with a pitch to put a runner on base with one down. That was followed by a Kyle Isbel single to put runners on the corners, while Maikel Garcia made things 4-2 with another RBI knock. Still with runners on the corners, Alzolay managed to get Drew Waters to ground out, but with another run-scoring and having Garcia advance to second, the danger was far from over. Alzolay didn't let that phase him as he bounced back to retire speedster Dairon Blanco to end the game as the Cubs held on 4-3. For Alzolay, that marks 12 consecutive successful save opportunities as he is now 18-19 in saves this season. With just five hits, the Cubs didn't have much offense, but they made things count with the hits they had. Along with the homers by Suzuki and Amaya, Hoerner, Happ, and Mike Tauchman had the remaining hits as the Cubs have to feel fortunate to get this series win. Next up for the Cubs is a trip to Detroit for their final interleague series of the season as they look to keep pace in the NL Central.
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