While waiting for the Cubs game to begin Wednesday evening, I was watching the Brewers hang on to defeat the Padres 3-1. That result dropped the Cubs’ magic number to clinch home field for their Wild Card
series against the Padres to 3.
I would guess that game was being watched in the Cubs’ clubhouse, too. Whether it was that result or something else that galvanized Cubs hitters Wednesday doesn’t matter — what matters is that those bats did get going and pounded the Mets 10-3, ending the team’s five-game losing streak and reducing that magic number to 2.
This one was fun, so let’s take a look at how it happened.
The teams matched zeroes for two innings, though the Cubs had a run taken off the board on a review of this play in the first [VIDEO].
After Matthew Boyd also threw a scoreless third, the Cubs got to work. Matt Shaw led off with a single and Busch walked. Nico Hoerner singled to load the bases.
Ian Happ’s double scored a pair [VIDEO].
Moisés Ballesteros followed with another hit, scoring Hoerner to make it 3-0 [VIDEO].
Happ took third on that single and Seiya Suzuki’s double scored him, making it 4-0 [VIDEO].
Ballesteros stopped at third on the double, which chased Mets starter Jonah Tong from the game. Old friend Richard Lovelady came in and struck out Carson Kelly, but then Pete Crow-Armstrong’s sac fly scored Ballesteros with the fifth run of the inning [VIDEO].
About the five-run third, from BCB’s JohnW53:
The Cubs’ third inning was their 23rd of the season with exactly five runs, but just their second after July 6. They had scored six in one inning since then.
The five-run third came after a three-run inning Tuesday night. The Cubs had not had innings with at least three runs in back-to-back games since July 25-26 against the White Sox. They had not done it at home since July 21-22 vs. the Royals.
Boyd threw a 1-2-3 fourth and the Cubs made it 6-o in the bottom of the inning on Shaw’s 13th home run of the season [VIDEO].
Any thoughts of a possible no-hitter from Boyd were erased in the fifth when Francisco Alvarez smacked a two-run homer. Now it’s 6-2. Were you worried about a Mets comeback?
The Cubs made sure that wasn’t going to happen. They plated two more runs in the sixth. Ballesteros led off with a walk and advanced to third on two infield outs.
You can’t see it on the clip, but I assure you Ballesteros scored on that bad throw to make it 7-2. PCA took second when Mark Vientos’ throw went into the Mets dugout, and then he did some PCA-style baserunning [VIDEO].
Before all that, Boyd had come out to throw to Juan Soto leading off the sixth. He retired Soto on a popup and then left to a warm ovation, kind of a thank-you for his wonderful season. Boyd winds up with a 3.21 ERA and 14 wins, and it was good to see this game after his rough time the last month or so. Hopefully that’s a good sign for the postseason to come. Here are a few postgame remarks from Boyd:
Daniel Palencia, freshly activated off the injured list, retired the next two hitters to finish off the top of the sixth. He was throwing 100 with no issues and snapped off some good-looking sliders. Craig Counsell had said Palencia would likely just get some worka before the regular season ends and not necessarily close games. This was a good example of that. A healthy Palencia will be a huge boost to the pen in October.
The Cubs scored two more in the sixth. Shaw led off with a single, his third hit of the game, and Busch smacked his 31st home run to make it 10-2 [VIDEO].
Aaron Civale entered the game in the seventh and finished up, with the three-inning outing qualifying for a save — the first of his professional career. That helped save the rest of the pen, with the only blemish a solo home run by Soto in the eighth.
A note on all the Cubs runs scored in the last two games from John:
Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s games were the ninth time this season that the Cubs have scored at least seven runs in two or more consecutive games. It was the first time since June 24-25, when they lost, 8-7, then won, 8-0, at St. Louis.
They played 75 games between the second of those games and Tuesday.
So the Cubs are in much better position to guarantee home field against the Padres next week. If they win tonight and tomorrow, that’ll do it, or any two wins over the Cubs’ final four games of the regular season, or a couple of losses from the Padres, who have three games left, all against the Diamondbacks at home beginning Friday.
PCA sums up what we all feel about having postseason baseball at Wrigley Field:
The Cubs and Mets will wrap their series Thursday evening at Wrigley Field. Shōta Imanaga will start for the Cubs and Nolan McLean goes for the Mets. Game time is 6:40 p.m. CT and TV coverage will be via Marquee Sports Network (and MLB Network outside the Cubs and Mets market territories).
