31 August 2023
The Chicago Cubs’ path to the postseason is not division-champion-or-bust.
But they kept a National League Central title in their sights by securing a series win with a 3-2 victory against the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday at Wrigley Field, putting them three games back of the division leaders. The rivals meet one more time in Milwaukee in the final series of the season.
“It just solidifies the confidence,” said Kyle Hendricks after allowing two runs (one earned) in six innings. “We’ve been playing with that anyway, but we knew coming in it was going to be a big series, a little more energy, a little more tension from the outside, but we’re able to stay locked in and keep it pitch to pitch.
“We know going forward every game is going to be huge.”
The Cubs’ next 11 games and 14 of their next 17 are against the three teams behind them in the NL wild-card race in which they hold the second spot, starting with a four-game series against the Cincinnati Reds this weekend, the San Francisco Giants (three) and the Arizona Diamondbacks (seven).
The way the Cubs (71-62) took two of three games carried big-picture implications as they won games started by two of the best starters in the league in Corbin Burnes and Brandon Woodruff. These are the caliber of pitchers they would face in the postseason. Every opportunity, and mistake, becomes magnified. The Cubs managed just three hits Wednesday with their two runs off Woodruff in the first inning holding until the Brewers tied the game 2-2 in the top of the eighth when Adbert Alzolay hit Mark Canha with two outs and the bases loaded.
The blown save was only the second of the season for Alzolay, who did the same against the Brewers on July 4 in Milwaukee. Alzolay on Wednesday displayed a resiliency seen throughout the Cubs roster, coming back to hold down the ninth for the win.
A fielding error, walk and sacrifice bunt to put runners on second and third gave the Cubs two cracks in the bottom of the eighth to score the go-ahead run. Ian Happ’s grounder led to an out at home with Christopher Morel running on contact, but a lucky bounce provided the break the Cubs needed. Cody Bellinger’s comebacker deflected off reliever Joel Payamps, and he beat the throw from third baseman Andruw Monasterio as Mike Tauchman scored.
The Cubs often have done the little things well, and it has put them in great position with 30 games remaining. They’re winning games they would have lost during the first two months of the season, going 17-6 in one-run games since the end of May, trailing only the Reds (20) and Brewers (19).
“We believe the division in reachable, we’ve thought that for a while,” Bellinger said. “It’s definitely something that we as a group have strived for since spring training, so we’ve got a whole month left and get some really good teams so we’ve got to continue playing our game.”
A team built around pitching and defense has provided the backbone of the Cubs’ success. Nico Hoerner’s defensive work Wednesday nearly single-handedly kept the Brewers off the board, at one point preventing the ball from reaching the outfield on a diving attempt up the middle to keep the tying run at third base in the fifth inning of the one-run game.
“Those are winning plays that aren’t going to show up in a box score,” manager David Ross said.
Hendricks’ performance represented his 15th start of three earned runs allowed or fewer since May 25 — when he made his season debut — second most in the majors. Just as the Cubs lineup has been able to conquer good pitching lately, the Justin Steele-Hendricks combination continues to give them a chance to shut down opposing teams and rack up wins at a key stage of the season.
The intangibles are all there, and the Cubs are peaking at the right time, building momentum as they face their most important stretch of the season.
“Our brand of baseball is trying to find a way to win,” Ross said. “Our brand of baseball is consistent defensive, good defensive plays. If you go back and watch the tape like what you do in the NFL, you could find a lot of areas that we could be a little bit better.
“But we pitched, made plays when we had to and got a couple of key hits. That’s what you’ve got to do sometimes.”
()