Cubs fans already were streaming toward the exits as closer Ryan Pressly walked off the field. Of those left, a smattering sent him off with boos.<\/p>\n
What had been a thrilling, extra-inning game had descended into a bludgeoning.<\/p>\n
In the Cubs\u2019 14-5, 11-inning loss Tuesday, the Giants rallied for nine runs in the final inning, with Pressly charged with all of them. Eight were earned.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018He\u2019s a true professional guy who wants the ball to compete and win games for us, and he\u2019s going to do that a lot this year,\u2019\u2019 second baseman Nico Hoerner said. \u2018\u2018It didn\u2019t line up for him today, but he\u2019s going to be back in there and be great.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
It was the largest extra-inning loss in Cubs history, according to team historian Ed Hartig. The previous record was seven runs, set on June 18, 1921, also against the Giants.<\/p>\n
The nine runs allowed in the 11th were also a team record for runs yielded in an extra inning, eclipsing the seven runs the Cubs surrendered in that same 1921 contest.<\/p>\n
The Cubs had fought back from an early deficit to reach that point.<\/p>\n
For the offense, Miguel Amaya had the big swing early in the game, a two-run home run in the third. Dansby Swanson led off two innings with singles and scored both times. Justin Turner and Kyle Tucker had RBI singles in the ninth to tie the score and send the game into extra innings.<\/p>\n
On the other side, Cubs relievers Drew Pomeranz, Brad Keller, Daniel Palencia, Chris Flexen and Porter Hodge combined to throw five scoreless innings after starter Colin Rea came out after five.<\/p>\n
Then it all imploded in the 11th.<\/p>\n
Pressly, who hadn\u2019t appeared in a game since Thursday, took the mound with an automatic runner on second.<\/p>\n
He gave up a leadoff double to Heliot Ramos and an RBI single to Patrick Bailey. Then Brett Wisely put down a bunt back to Pressly, who flipped home. But catcher Carson Kelly couldn\u2019t quite put on the tag, losing the ball.<\/p>\n
The next five batters all reached via a walk, a hit batsman and three singles.<\/p>\n
With the Cubs trailing 12-5, manager Craig Counsell called in left-hander Caleb Thielbar to finish the inning. Pressly hadn\u2019t gotten an out.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018He hasn\u2019t pitched a lot,\u2019\u2019 Counsell said when he was asked how Pressly had been feeling physically since having his right knee drained two weeks ago.<\/p>\n
In Pressly\u2019s previous 10 outings, he hadn\u2019t allowed an earned run.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018The score doesn\u2019t make it look like a good baseball game,\u2019\u2019 Counsell said. \u2018\u2018It was a good baseball game. The 11th was not a good inning for us, but it was two teams playing good. And we made a nice comeback, did some great things in the ninth inning to get it there. And then we had shots to win it.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
In the 10th, Seiya Suzuki started as the free runner at second and Michael Busch drew a walk. Then Hoerner hit a long fly to right, with Suzuki tagging up to get to third with one out.<\/p>\n
Pete-Crow-Armstrong, who has been on a hot streak offensively, followed with a strikeout in a tough matchup against left-hander Erik Miller amid booming \u2018\u2018P-C-A\u2019\u2019 chants.<\/p>\n
Counsell said bunting in that situation was \u2018\u2018a thought.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018They\u2019re kind of all over the bunt in that situation,\u2019\u2019 Counsell said. \u2018\u2018So you feel like maybe the ball in play\u2019s got a better chance.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
With two outs, Swanson hit a 103.3 mph lineout to third baseman Matt Chapman to end the inning.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018Wouldn\u2019t want anything else than a hard line drive right there, right?\u2019\u2019 Hoerner said. \u2018\u2018So that one hurt, but we\u2019ll get them [in the
\nseries finale] tomorrow.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It was the largest extra-inning loss in Cubs history, according to team historian Ed Hartig. The previous record was seven runs, set on June 18, 1921, also against the Giants.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":53528,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-53527","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"\n