NEW YORK – Four years in the past, Cubs supervisor Joe Maddon resorted to hiring a magician on the primary day of a sequence in New York to distract and shake up a slumping group – and what adopted was a Cubs sweep of the Mets.
On Tuesday evening a Cubs group at an much more dire crossroads stumbled into the identical place and skilled a second that appeared extra mystical and paranormal than something Simon the Magician might pull out of a hat.
What the circumstances of a 5-2 Cubs victory may imply within the bigger image, “We’re going to find out tomorrow,” mentioned Maddon, referring to Noah Syndergaard and Jacob deGrom beginning for the Mets the following two video games.
Until then take into account the supernatural forces that appeared on one evening in a single division race:
As the Cubs fought to shut the hole on first-place St. Louis within the NL Central, the Cardinals endured a rain delay. In Milwaukee. At a stadium with a roof. (Said roof unable to be closed in time to keep away from the results of a quick-passing torrent.) After Yu Darvish pitched the Cubs to victory along with his longest begin as a Cub, Darvish provided an unsolicited nod to indelicate Chicago speaking head Dave Kaplan, who engaged in a shedding Twitter debate with Darvish in latest days over pitch choice.
“Kaplan makes sense,” Darvish mentioned after describing a few of Tuesday’s altered pitch sequencing – believed to be the primary time a real-life big-league participant has ever mentioned that.
“But he’s still full of crap, right?” retorted one Chicago scribe – with no seen change in Darvish’s eerily honest demeanor.
The slumping Javy Baez, who doubled twice and homered, additionally drew a stroll – simply his seventh in 51 video games. And Darvish surrendered a stroll – his first since July 23. And most of all this: The victory occurred on the street, the place the Cubs have threatened all season to depart their playoff possibilities in a tire-marked heap on the shoulder.
“These are all big games the rest of the way,” mentioned group president Theo Epstein, who made a uncommon street look with the group for this sequence. “The standings have changed quite a bit the last 2½ weeks. We’re not on the side of it we want to be anymore. They all become big games.”
The Cubs nonetheless path by three video games within the division after the Cardinals returned from the rain to win — and in a four-team scrum for the league’s second wild-card spot with 31 video games to play.
But after huge video games by Russell and Javy Baez, and after Darvish responded to a tough end in his earlier begin with eight sharp innings Tuesday, the Cubs instantly had received three consecutive video games on the street for under the third time this season – first since a five-game streak April 27-May 14.
The Cubs had been so beaten-down throughout the weekend sweep by the hands of the Nationals that when Russell’s two-run homer cleared the center-field wall within the fifth inning, the Cubs had their first lead since Thursday.
“He looks really good right now,” Maddon mentioned of Russell. “His overall game can really propel us I believe.”
Baez’s stroll was his second in as many video games, and Maddon mentioned the homer and double that adopted had been no coincidence.
“With everybody, when you have an organized strike zone, you will hit better,” he mentioned. “You’re going to get more pitches to drive.”
If Baez and Russell within the center are vital components for the Cubs down the stretch, Darvish is essential.
Darvish, who requested the beginning within the first recreation after the All-Star break for a weary and dinged-up rotation, has a 2.93 ERA in 9 begins since then with 72 strikeouts and simply three walks.
“I was so sad about the walk; four-pitch walk. Not good,” mentioned Darvish, who referred to as it “embarrassing.”
At which level he was reminded it was his solely stroll this month. “But still,” he mentioned.