PHOENIX — It wouldn’t be a trip to Chase Field without a frustrating loss for the Chicago Cubs.
They were on the verge of taking three of four games against the Arizona Diamondbacks when an eighth-inning meltdown by the bullpen thwarted those efforts in a 10-6 loss Sunday.
Kyle Tucker’s three-run home run off a first-pitch curveball from Diamondbacks lefty reliever Joe Mantiply gave the Cubs a four-run lead heading into the bottom of the eighth inning.
Arizona responded by sending 12 batters to the plate and putting up eight runs against three Cubs relievers, with most of the damage coming against right-hander Eli Morgan, who allowed six hits and six runs in 2/3 inning.
“It seems like a lot of balls were middle, I have to go back and watch that,” Morgan said. “They were making smart contact.”
The Cubs head to Sacramento to play the Athletics before the Wrigley Field opener on Friday. As they departed Arizona, there were three takeaways from the Cubs’ series split.
1. Cubs are trusting in the bullpen.
Ryan Pressly’s first three outings in a Cubs uniform haven’t showcased his best stuff.
The 36-year-old veteran reliever, acquired from the Houston Astros in the offseason, has allowed six hits, three runs, four walks, one home run and struck out one in three innings. Pressly recorded his first save for the Cubs in Saturday’s 4-3 win when shortstop Dansby Swanson’s heads-up defensive play ended the game, preventing the Diamondbacks from having the bases loaded.
“It’s just trying to execute pitches as best as I can,” Pressly said afterward. “That’s a good team, they’re swinging the bat really well right now, especially (Eugenio) Suárez. I mean, I thought I executed my pitches up and he still got to it. So need to tip your hat to him, it’s just one of those things, but you’ve got to go out there and keep executing pitches as best as you possibly can and give your team a chance.”
The bullpen didn’t have its smoothest moments against the Diamondbacks, with Sunday’s collective outing the rockiest. Right-hander Julian Merryweather was unavailable out of the bullpen, Counsell said afterward, complicating the options in the game’s biggest moments. Merryweather warmed up twice during both Thursday’s and Saturday night’s game and didn’t recover well, so he wasn’t able to go.
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“This is our group, and we’ve certainly got to be a little better than that and expect it, and we will,” Counsell said. “Today wasn’t a good day.”
Counsell commended Pressly on Saturday for being able to control the situation during his stressful ninth inning. The Cubs’ late-inning high-leverage spots out of the bullpen were built in the offseason to have Pressly as a key part of that mix, beginning the season as their closer.
The Cubs expect Pressly to get locked in the more he pitches, so rolling him out in opportunities like the ones he has been called upon thus far will continue.
“Obviously it means we’re winning so that’s a good thing, but he needs to pitch,” Counsell said. “We need to get him out there pitching. He gave up some runs, and that’s not good, but Saturday was a good day for him. I think he’ll take some from today for the positive.”
2. Seiya Suzuki broke through.
For the Cubs’ offense to be great this year, Seiya Suzuki needs to be a big part of it.
Coming off a top-15 offensive season in the league, Suzuki has shown the damage he can do when he stays healthy. This year, in a full-time designated hitter role, Suzuki was off to a slow start after a tough stretch of right-handed starters. Suzuki entered Sunday’s series finale 2-for-21 with one double, one walk and 11 strikeouts through five games.
“The guys the first two days were, stuff-wise, pretty exceptional, the matchup (Saturday) night, it’s a tough one for Seiya,” Counsell said. “It’s the kind of matchup that for every hitter, they’ve got that tough one. And Brandon Pfaadt is a tough one for Seiya. So you’ve got to keep going.”
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Counsell noted how facing a left-hander like Diamondbacks Sunday starter Eduardo Rodriguez is always good for a right-handed hitter. His comment proved fortuitous. Suzuki slugged his first home run of the year in the sixth inning, a two-run shot that importantly gave the Cubs some cushion on their 1-0 lead.
The usually non-demonstrative Suzuki didn’t hold back his emotions following the home run, showing relief after being frustrated.
“I was feeling a little lost, a little lost in my swing, not being able to get my best swing in there, and just kind of upset about myself and just thinking about stuff like that,” Suzuki said through interpreter Edwin Stanberry. “So I’m glad I was able to get my best swing off today.”
3. Matt Shaw found balance with his approach.
Rookie third baseman Matt Shaw hasn’t found himself in too many pinch-hit opportunities.
But when Shaw was called on to pinch hit to open the seventh inning on Saturday, he attacked the first pitch he saw, an elevated fastball. He expected to be challenged in the at-bat, and Shaw got all of it, hitting his first big-league home run.
“It was an amazing moment,” Shaw said. “Obviously, for me, it makes the moment even cooler that we end up needing that run at the end of the game. So it was just a great game overall. Coming in later in the game is unique, but it was really cool.”
Shaw should hit plenty more home runs in his big-league career, but the most valuable lesson from his first long ball is how it will help him hone his approach.
“I think my balance has been a little bit on the side of passive the first four games, just kind of getting a feel for the big leagues and everything in the environment,” Shaw said. “But going into that game, my mindset was I need to step up, be a little more aggressive, kind of take that aggressiveness that I’ve always had into my day to day.
“It showed in that at-bat, and I think it’s something that I’m going to continue to build off of, for sure.”
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