The Cubs got a reminder of the bad old days of May and June in this loss.
Justin Steele returned from the injured list Wednesday afternoon on an absolutely gorgeous late summer day.
Unfortunately, he appeared pitch-limited and after struggling and loading the bases in the third inning, Steele was lifted after 57 pitches.
That made this essentially a bullpen game for the Cubs. Now, if the Cubs pen had pitched the way they had for most of the last couple of months, that might have worked out all right. But Drew Smyly and Nate Pearson got lit up in the seventh and eighth innings and as has been the case for many recent Cubs games, the offense vanished after the middle innings.
All of that added up to a 5-3 loss to the A’s. Let’s rewind and have a look.
Steele did all right in the first two innings, wiggling out of trouble with a strikeout in the first and double play in the second. Meanwhile, the Cubs couldn’t do much with A’s rookie lefty Brady Basso over those innings. Then after Steele loaded the bases with two out in the second, Ethan Roberts was summoned and got out of the inning with a pop fly to short right [VIDEO].
Unfortunately, Tyler Soderstrom hit a two-out homer off Roberts in the fourth to give the A’s a 1-0 lead.
The Cubs couldn’t score through four and Keegan Thompson threw a scoreless fifth.
Then the Cubs did get on the board in the bottom of the fifth. Nico Hoerner led off with a single and went to third on a single by Pete Crow-Armstrong. PCA moved up on a wild pitch, and Miguel Amaya walked. Ian Happ struck out, but Dansby Swanson singled in a run [VIDEO].
The bases remained loaded, and Seiya Suzuki singled in another run to give the Cubs the lead [VIDEO].
The bases were still loaded, and Cody Bellinger’s sac fly made it 3-1 [VIDEO].
Tyson Miller threw a 1-2-3 sixth, but the Cubs offense couldn’t do anything in the bottom of the inning.
Don’t know what’s wrong with Drew Smyly, but he’s now given up eight runs (seven earned) in his last four appearances covering 1⅔ innings. One of those runs scored after Nate Pearson came into the game, and Pearson hasn’t been good recently either.
It might have been worse in the seventh if not for this wacky play that ended the inning [VIDEO].
If you’re scoring that play went 2-6-5-3-2-3.
The Cubs again went down easily in the bottom of the seventh after a leadoff walk by pinch-hitter Mike Tauchman. Swanson hit into an inning-ending double play.
Pearson came out again for the eighth and got hit hard, allowing a single and RBI double to give the A’s the lead. One out later, a ground-ball fielder’s choice scored Oakland’s fifth run of the game.
It’s not just the bullpen meltdowns, it’s the complete lack of offense after the middle innings. The Cubs had just two baserunners after the fifth, both erased on double plays. This one, by PCA, ended the game [VIDEO].
I didn’t understand why Roberts, or Thompson, or Miller, couldn’t have thrown more than one inning. Sure, it’s a bullpen game but that doesn’t mean you have to use the ENTIRE bullpen, which Craig Counsell almost did.
Not sure what else to say about this series, except that the A’s aren’t really that bad a team, certainly much improved over the 112-loss team the Cubs swept a year ago. Since July 1 they’re 37-30 and in addition to this series, they have won series over two teams that are likely going to the postseason (Astros and Mets). They could possibly be a contending team themselves in 2025.
As for the Cubs, this loss clinched the NL Central title for the Brewers. Milwaukee is the first team to clinch a playoff spot this year. They are only a couple games behind the Dodgers for a first-round bye so they’ll be playing for that.
The Cubs will resume playing out the string against the Nationals when the teams open a four-game series at Wrigley Field Thursday evening. Javier Assad is listed as the Cubs starter for the series opener. At this writing the Nats do not have a starter listed. Game time Thursday is 6:40 p.m. CT and TV coverage will be via Marquee Sports Network.
