The Cubs sure don’t make it easy on themselves.
Holding a two-run lead in the ninth inning with the Blue Jays down to their last out with runners on second and third base, reliever Hector Neris allowed a game-tying triple by George Springer. After Neris struck out center fielder Daulton Varsho, the 39,614 fans at Wrigley Field booed the reliever. He allowed three runs in the inning.
However, designated hitter Seiya Suzuki salvaged the game with a 10th-inning walk-off single, the first of his career, in Friday’s 6-5 win over the Blue Jays.
“He had a tough inning today, no question about it,” manager Craig Counsell said of Neris. “They had some good at-bats. They kind of jumped him, and they had some two-strike hits against him. But you got to keep making pitches.
“We can be upset that the game got tied. He had to make big pitches to get Varsho out, keep the game tied and give us a chance. No one likes to give up runs.”
Neris is well-respected in the locker room, but his performance turned a game that should have been a comfortable win into a nail-biter. It’s now or never for the Cubs if they want to salvage an otherwise disappointing season and Friday’s showing was uneven.
“It’s a win, and that’s the big thing,” Counsell said. “It’d be great to pick out every win and make them beautiful. But a win’s a win.”
The offense was the driving force behind Friday’s win. After the Blue Jays tied the game in the fourth inning, Pete Crow-Armstrong and catcher Miguel Amaya each hit solo homers to push the Cubs out in front in the fifth. Left fielder Ian Happ added to the scoring with a 433-foot homer, his team-leading 21st of the season.
Friday’s game starts an 18-game stretch where the Cubs won’t play a team above .500. Fangraphs gives the Cubs a 4.2% chance at making the playoffs. This stretch is their opportunity to build momentum, but sustained winning has eluded the Cubs throughout the season.
The team remains steadfast that they can’t look too far ahead and instead must focus on the next game, but they also know they’re in a precarious position standings-wise.
The Cubs haven’t been above .500 since May 28 and haven’t had a winning or losing streak longer than five games. It’ll be difficult, but it’s the hole the Cubs have dug for themselves. They’ll take any win after being swept in Cleveland.
“We know exactly where we’re at [in the standings], and it’s been that way for a while,” said starter Kyle Hendricks, who went five innings, allowing two runs (one unearned) and no walks. “It’s the opportunity that’s in front of us. “It doesn’t matter how it looks, how we get it done, a win is a win. That was big today, and just move on to tomorrow. But we can’t put too much ahead of us.”
Stringing together wins has proved difficult for this club all season, and that is why they find themselves at 60-63 fighting to have a chance at the playoffs. They have a proclivity for inconsistency.
After being swept against the Guardians, this stretch could define the Cubs’ season. It’s up to them to start stacking series wins.
“We got a bunch of guys in there that just love to win,” Hendricks said. “It’s been a tough road all year, but it’s such a long season. It takes one hot stretch, especially with where the standings are at right now. We see that; we know it’s possible.”