Swanson, Morel clutch in series win over Blue Jays |
TORONTO - It has been a long time since the Chicago Cubs (61-56) could say they have had a legitimate Ace to lead their rotation. Justin Steele has become that Ace in 2023, and it couldn't have come at a more perfect time. With Kyle Hendricks nearing the end of his career and Marcus Stroman struggling, Steele has taken it on to become the Cubs ace and has done so with flying colors.
He leads the majors with 13 wins to just three losses and has an ERA below 3.00 at 2.79. If that doesn't speak Cy Young consideration, I don't know what will as Steele took his success to the Rogers Centre on Saturday to face the Toronto Blue Jays (65-54). Even when Steele isn't at his best, he still delivers strong showings, as he only gave the Cubs five innings of work, allowing three runs. He didn't walk a batter and struck out seven but had to settle for a no-decision. “You want to pitch in the [big] moments,” Steele said after the game. “There's a lot of pressure in the World Series. And that's exactly what we're all shooting for. Knowing that you've done it before, you've pitched in high-pressure situations and stuff, it definitely helps going forward." Opposing Steele was Chris Bassitt, as he, too, has had a good season. Not at the level of Steele and his season, Bassitt has been a pleasant addition to the middle of the Blue Jays rotation and is currently posting an ERA of 3.95. He was hit hard early but settled in to give the Blue Jays six innings as he left trailing before taking a no-decision. That was because the battle-tested Cubs took the Blue Jay's best shots and continued to get off the mat as Christopher Morel came through with a game-winning RBI double in the ninth to secure another 5-4 win for the Cubs. Steele has played the stopper all season long whenever the Cubs needed one, but today he was tasked with delivering another strong outing to clinch the Cub's eighth series win in nine tries. Steele worked around a pair of singles in the first two innings to keep the Blue Jays scoreless, as this looked like a good old-fashioned pitcher's duel. Bassitt was equally as good as he allowed a one-out single from Nico Hoerner in the first before a one-out walk to Yan Gomes was erased by a double play ball to keep things scoreless entering the bottom of the third. That is when the Blue Jays offense started to get some better swings off of Steele as Daulton Varsho led things off with a double to set the Blue Jays offense up. To Steele's credit, he nearly worked around that leadoff double only to have Vladimir Guerrero Jr come through with an RBI single to put the Blue Jays in front 1-0. Despite allowing the first run of the game, the Cubs made sure their lead didn't hold up as they responded with a massive fourth inning. Once again, it was the top of the order doing most of the damage as Hoerner started things off with a leadoff double. Following an Ian Happ walk to put runners on, Cody Bellinger continued to do his thing as another RBI single brought things back to even 1-1. Belli gets us on the board! 💪 pic.twitter.com/sMSHstokhT That was when the big blow of the game came from the Cubs as Dansby Swanson connected for his 18th homer, as his three-run shot capped off a four-run frame with the Cubs now leading 4-1. Dansby Swanson - Chicago Cubs (18)
That would be it for their offense for quite a while, as it would come down to the pitching to secure the win. Steele took it upon himself to dominate the Blue Jays in the fourth before a leadoff single from Santiago Espinal seemed to be the moment when he started to come undone. Two batters later saw Whit Merrifield leave the yard, and just like that, it was a 4-3 game as Steele was finished following the fifth. Given that the Cubs have had some blowout games and off days, the pen is very well-rested, which makes things easier for David Ross. Michael Fulmer is one of those guys who is rested, but he wasn't at his best on Saturday. Fulmer allowed a one-out double to Davis Schneider to set the Blue Jays offense up while walking another hitter later in the inning. On the verge of pitching out of trouble, Espinal came through with a massive hit as his ground rule double-tied things up 4-4 and kept the pressure on. The Cubs were fortunate it was a ground-rule double, so an additional run didn't score as Mark Leiter Jr finished things without further damage. With Bassitt out of the game to begin the seventh, this was now a game of the bullpens as Toronto went with Yimi Garcia to pitch the seventh. Garcia got off to a rough start by allowing a one-out single to Jeimer Candelario and walking Seiya Suzuki. Still, he managed to escape trouble with an inning-ending double play. Scoreless frames from Jose Cuas and Julian Merryweather kept the game tied as the teams headed to the ninth knotted at four. Looking to rally late, the Cubs were set to face a familiar face in hard-throwing right-hander Jordan Hicks who was acquired from the Cardinals at the deadline. Averaging nearly 102 MPH with his heater, Hicks is an intimidating presence on the mound, but Bellinger doesn't mind as he laced a liner down the right field line for a leadoff ground rule double. The Cubs were just getting started in that inning as Christopher Morel ripped a double to left two batters later, and just like that, the Cubs were back in front 5-4. Christopher Morel gives the Cubs THE LEAD! pic.twitter.com/7WRYrqd6Bl Looking to close things out in the ninth, Ross turned to his dominant closer in Adbert Alzolay, whose great season continued. Alzolay not only took care of business but needed less than 15 pitches to get through the Blue Jays lineup as he retired them in order with a strikeout to secure his 16th save in 17 tries and gave the Cubs a 5-4 win. “I feel like we're pretty well-equipped for whatever the next month and a half, two months has [in store],” Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner said to reporters after the win. “Just [because] of what we experienced with the Deadline, I feel like. Having some games that felt like they were a little turned up as far as urgency and intensity. “I think that'll be a really good experience in the long run for our group.” .@adbert29 has converted 12 consecutive save opportunities 🔥 pic.twitter.com/blF1XFMosI
The Cubs had seven hits in the win as Hoerner and Bellinger led the way with two. Suzuki, Morel, and Swanson added the other three hits in another impressive win for this team. The Cubs will go for the sweep on Sunday as they turn to the red-hot Jameson Taillon as he will face Hyun Jin-Ryu. Taillon has been the only pitcher better than Steele the last month and has posted a 2.15 ERA across his last eight starts. The first pitch is set for 12:37 PM CDT.
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