Here is where the decisions of the Cubs front office come home to the proverbial roost.
While other teams crank out seemingly endless supplies of relievers who throw 98+, the Cubs sign retread guys to multi-year contracts.
Oh, sure, they do fine for a while but eventually games like this are going to happen, and the complete bullpen failure ruined what was a fine afternoon at Wrigley Field — through the sixth inning.
Then Trent Thornton, Caleb Thielbar and Jacob Webb got pounded for eight Blue Jays
runs in two innings, including a couple of soul-crushing Toronto home runs, and the Cubs lost a winnable game 8-6.
So let’s start at the beginning, because at least this game was good then.
Rea retired the first 12 Jays he faced, two by strikeout and several others by ground balls. Over the first four innings just four balls were hit out of the infield by Toronto hitters.
Meanwhile, the Cubs were fashioning a 3-0 lead. Alex Bregman and Ian Happ singled to begin the second and then Matt Shaw sent a ball into the bleachers [VIDEO].
Then, unfortunately, the Cubs started to have RISP issues again. They had runners on first and second with one out in the third — nothing doing. In the fourth, they loaded the bases with two out on a double by Dansby Swanson and walks by Pete Crow-Armstrong and Nico Hoerner.
Credit to the Jays right fielder Nathan Lukes for making this catch off a drive by Seiya Suzuki [VIDEO].
If that catch isn’t made the hit probably clears the bases. But it didn’t. Tip o’ the cap to Lukes.
Rea was lifted after 5.1 outstanding innings. He began to run out of gas in the sixth when he allowed two singles to start the inning. After he got George Springer to fly out, Ryan Rolison was summoned to pitch to Lukes.
You can’t get more efficient than what Rolison did — got a double-play comebacker on his first (and only) pitch of the game. Two outs on one pitch, great work. Unfortunately it was the only good Cubs relief work until it was too late.
Regarding Rea, here’s more on his outing [VIDEO].
And more from BCB’s JohnW53:
This was the Cubs’ fifth game of the season in which their starting pitcher gave up no runs while pitching 5.0 to 5.2 innings.
Each was by a different starter: Javier Assad, Ben Brown, Edward Cabrera, Shota Imanaga and Colin Rea.
The Cubs had 13 such games last season, only three in 2024 and 2023, and 10 in 2022.
Imanaga has done it six times in his career, tying Kyle Hendricks for the most. Assad, Cade Horton and Scott Sanderson have had five apiece.
The Cubs have had 146 total games of the kind, 91 of them since 2000 and 38 since 2021.
The Cubs extended the lead to 5-0 in the sixth. With two out, Swanson walked, and then PCA put one out of the yard [VIDEO].
So now it’s 5-0 and we’re heading to the seventh. What could possibly go wrong?
Well, you now know that the answer to that is “Everything.” I’ll spare you most of the carnage, but the key lows were a three-run homer by Daulton Varsho off Thornton, and another three-run job by Kazumo Okamoto, that one off Webb. The other two Jays runs were on a two-run single by Vladimir Guerrero Jr., also off Webb after Thielbar had put two runners on base via walk and single starting the eighth.
The Cubs did attempt a comeback. Miguel Amaya walked leading off the bottom of the eighth and went to second on a single by Swanson. PCA blooped an opposite-field single to left — off a lefty, a real good sign! — to load the bases with nobody out.
Could this be another miracle comeback?
Well, no. The Cubs did score once on this fielder’s choice by Nico [VIDEO].
That left runners on first and third with one out, but Suzuki struck out — badly, look at where the pitch he swung at for strike three was:
Then Michael Busch hit a fly ball that was caught in foul territory by Myles Straw to end the inning.
Ethan Roberts, the only Cubs reliever after Rolison to come through this game unscathed, threw a 1-2-3 ninth.
The Cubs did get a runner on base in the bottom of the ninth. With one out, Happ hit a comebacker that Jays closer Louis Varland threw away for an error. Happ advanced to second on a wild pitch, but Shaw struck out and pinch-hitter Pedro Ramirez grounded to second to end the game.
So on a day when the Cubs got a really good outing out of who’s nominally their fifth starter, the bullpen was awful. That’s going to have to improve if this team’s standing is going to improve. Period, end of story.
One more note from John:
The Cubs’ last loss before today in which they squandered a five-run lead was on Sept. 23 of last season, at home vs. the Mets.
They led, 6-1, after four innings, then surrendered five runs in the fifth and one in the sixth, to trail, 7-6. They tied the score with a run in the bottom half, but yielded two in the eighth and lost, 9-7.
The Brewers lost to the Braves for the second straight day so the Cubs remain 6.5 games out of the NL Central lead. That is not insurmountable with half a season left. And the team has begun hitting again. But the pitching has Got. To. Get. Better.
Sunday’s series finale will feature starters Shōta Imanaga for the Cubs and Dylan Cease for Toronto (weather permitting, and it might not). Game time is 1:20 p.m. CT and TV coverage will be via Marquee Sports Network.
