With nearer Brandon Morrow already down, and Pedro Strop happening the injured listing Wednesday with a hamstring damage, Cubs supervisor Joe Maddon referred to as his nearer state of affairs “the wild, wild west.”
It solely acquired wilder when Kyle Ryan gave up the leadoff hit within the ninth and veteran Steve Cishek finally blowing the save after one other single, a wild pitch and run-scoring grounder.
It was the second blown save of the week and sixth in 12 probabilities this season for a bullpen that has principally carried out effectively — even appeared to overachieve at instances — for a Cubs crew in a three-way scrum jockeying this week for the highest spot within the National League Central.
The Cubs finally walked off on the Marlins for the second night time in a row, this time Jason Heyward main off the 11th inning with an opposite-field basket shot to left for a 3-2 victory.
Jason Heyward rounds the bases after hitting the game-ending residence run Wednesday night time within the backside of the 11th inning to beat the Marlins 3-2. (Photo by David Banks/Getty Images)
It was the primary time since 1998 the Cubs received back-to-back video games on walk-off residence runs (additionally Kris Bryant Tuesday night time).
But about that ninth inning, which has been a supply of questions for the Cubs since their incapability to spend a lot within the offseason to improve a bullpen that has been with out Morrow since final July. His setback together with his surgically cleaned-out elbow final month solely exacerbated the problem.
“We have been and will continue to be in an aggressive mindset with respect to the bullpen,” crew president Theo Epstein mentioned. “The results thus far have been outstanding, but that doesn’t mean we become passive or assume that that’s going to continue going forward. We’re going to be challenged in that area throughout the course of the year, and we have to be resourceful. …”
But that doesn’t imply going after Craig Kimbrel, or anyone else who is likely to be had in a commerce. At least not but.
“With strop’s absence, it doesn’t really change anything for us,” Epstein mentioned. “We recognize this is a year where we’re going to be constantly on the lookout to make adjustments to the bullpen, to try to put the right relieves in the right position to be successful. We’ll have to tweak and adjust over the course of the year as we go and that we’ll receive a lot of help both internally and probably at some point from outside the organization.”
Until then, extra Cishek, Brandon Kintzler, Brad Brach and Carl Edwards Jr.
“It’ll be all the guys,” Maddon mentioned. “It’ll be everybody.”
Strop mentioned an MRI Wednesday confirmed a “Grade 2-plus” pressure nevertheless it doesn’t damage almost as a lot because it did final September when he injured the identical hamstring operating out a grounder.
Strop mentioned he first skilled ache this time round greater than every week in the past whereas pitching in Arizona, however thought he may pitch via it. He realized that it wouldn’t be attainable when he struggled with ache in Monday’s blown save.
“Hopefully, it’s no worse than four weeks,” he mentioned.
NOTES: Left-hander Mike Montgomery (lat) was activated from the injured listing and added to the bullpen.
• Veteran Ben Zobrist, who missed the primary week of spring coaching for an excused absence for private household causes, was placed on the restricted listing after requesting to are inclined to a household concern once more. The membership mentioned it has no timeline for his return. “Zo’s a huge part of our team, man, on and off the field,” teammate Albert Almora Jr. mentioned. “We definitely wish him well and hope he comes back soon.”