Taillon rocked as Cubs lose finale against Blue Jays |
TORONTO - One of the biggest issues for the Chicago Cubs (61-57) this season has been finding a way to win on Sundays or Series finales. Granted, they have done a better job of that lately, but had they been able to win even a few more earlier this season, this could be a first-place club.
As it stands, the Cubs are in second place in the NL Central while also occupying the final wild-card spot. They have done this on a second-half surge that has seen their offense become one of the best in the league while their pitching has been able to battle. Jameson Taillon is one of those guys who has changed his season, as he entered Sunday sporting a 2.34 ERA across his last eight starts. Looking to pick up his eighth victory and lead the Cubs to the sweep of the Toronto Blue Jays (66-54) at the Rodgers Centre on Sunday, it wasn't meant to be as the Blue Jays used a five-run second inning to seize control and avoided the sweep with an 11-4 win. Despite the loss, the Cubs took two of three in the series, which is all you can ask for this time of year, especially against a playoff-caliber team like Toronto. For what it is worth, it has been a long time since Taillon has had a rough outing, but Sunday was not his day on the mound. The right-hander labored through three innings and was charged with eight runs during his start. Those were the only runs the Blue Jays would have until late in the game when they picked up three more runs off of Caleb Kilian. You also had Hayden Wesneski throw two innings, with Drew Smyly making his first appearance since moving to the pen with an additional scoreless frame. Opposing Taillon was left-hander Hyun Jin Ryu who continues to work his way back from a season-ending injury in 2022. With the Blue Jays easing him into his workload, Ryu has always had good numbers against the Cubs going back to his time with the Dodgers. That continued on Sunday as he gave the Blue Jays five innings of work, allowing two unearned runs in his outing. Both unearned runs came in the first inning as things got off to an excellent start for the Cubs. Nico Hoerner worked a one-out walk to get things started, while a costly error to Ian Happ put a pair of runners on with one out. Two batters later saw Dansby Swanson put the Cubs in front as he laced an RBI double to give the Cubs a 2-0 lead. Dansby delivers! pic.twitter.com/FAMZsmNWYc Although it is nice to have the lead, it didn't last long as the Blue Jays started to tee off on Taillon in the second. What started with a leadoff single by Cavan Biggio was followed by a hit by a pitch as the Blue Jays had a pair of runners on with no outs. That set the stage for Daulton Varsho, who, with one swing, put the Blue Jays on top for good as his three-run blast gave Toronto a 3-2 lead. Taillon would retire the next two hitters before a Whit Merrifield single and a walk to Brandon Belt extended the inning. That proved extra costly as Vladimir Guerrero Jr and George Springer would add RBI singles to extend the Blue Jays lead to 5-2. With Ryu doing his thing on the mound and settling in after that first inning, it would be up to Taillon to keep things close if the Cubs offense wanted a chance. Unfortunately, that wouldn't happen as the Blue Jays opened the fourth with three straight singles from Merrifield, Belt, and Guerrero, with the Guerrero one leading to another run. A quick pitching change to bring Wesneski in resulted in a walk to start things off before two strikeouts had them on the verge of getting out of the inning. Unfortunately, that didn't happen as Varsho ripped an RBI single to give him five RBIs in two at-bats and extended the Blue Jays lead to 8-2. That would be more than enough offense for them as Ryu ended his outing with six straight outs while the Cubs saw nine of 10 hitters retired at one point. Once the seventh inning rolled around, you started to sense that maybe this Cubs team had one last comeback in them as they tried to get to Jay Jackson. A leadoff single from Swanson certainly helped, but it was the two-run bomb from Patrick Wisdom that made things 8-4. Despite his horrendous average and limited playing of late, Wisdom still leads the team with 20 homers. His homer would also be the game's final run for the Cubs, as they couldn't get much of anything going. .@PatrickWisdom5 leads the Cubs with 20 home runs this season. pic.twitter.com/i8GZgSTjVG Still holding their 8-4 lead in the eighth, the Blue Jays were looking to add on, as no lead is safe against this surging Cubs team. A pair of hit-by-pitches from Kilian certainly didn't help the Cubs, nor did the Santiago Espinal single extending the lead to 9-4. That single was followed by a Paul DeJong single and Merrifield double as the Blue Jays opened up an 11-4 lead. Down to their final three outs, the Cubs wouldn't go away quietly as they continued to display the fight they have shown all season. A one-out walk to Swanson set things up, followed by a Seiya Suzuki single to put a pair of runners on. That was it, as the Cubs couldn't do anything with it and fell to Toronto 11-4. The Cubs had just five hits in the game, with Swanson leading the way with two hits and two RBIs. Wisdom added a homer with his two RBIs, while Suzuki and Hoerner picked up the rest. The loss, mixed with the Brewers sweep of the Sox, knocks the Cubs 3.5 games back of first with a crucial stretch coming up. While the Brewers have the Dodgers, Padres, Phillies, and Rangers coming up, the Cubs have the White Sox, Royals, Tigers, and Pirates. I get you have to win the games you are expected to win, but if there was ever a chance for the Cubs to grab first place, these next two weeks are the time.
