The Cubs again put together a big rally and held on for the win.
There’s something about this team... I suspect you see it too. It took nearly the entire season to get there, but now the Chicago Cubs don’t seem to mind if they fall behind. There’s always a rally within them, and that was the case again Saturday in a come-from-behind 5-3 win over the Nationals, their fifth straight victory, eighth in their last nine and 11 of their last 14.
Things didn’t start out well. The Nats put a run on the board in the second off Javier Assad and then Andrés Chaparro homered off Assad in the fourth for a 2-0 advantage.
The Cubs did get some good defense that helped out in the third, an inning-ending double play [VIDEO].
The Nats challenged that and did not get the call overturned. That turned out to be important later, as they had a couple of other calls they might have challenged but couldn’t as a result.
Thus it was 2-0 entering the fifth inning and former Cubs minor leaguer DJ Herz had not allowed the Cubs a hit.
That’s when one of those Cubs rallies we have become so accustomed to in recent days began. Isaac Paredes led off the fifth with a single, the Cubs’ first hit. Michael Busch followed with a walk — very glad Craig Counsell let him start against a lefthander, a real sign of confidence. Busch almost always has a good at-bat.
Christian Bethancourt continued his hot hitting with this base hit [VIDEO].
Busch scored to make it 2-2, with no RBI to Bethancourt because of a fielding error by normally-solid Nats center fielder Jacob Young. That error also allowed Hoerner and Busch to move up a base, to second and third.
That was important because this ground out by Ian Happ scored Nico to give the Cubs the lead [VIDEO].
Ordinarily, a comebacker like that wouldn’t have scored a run, but when it bounced off Herz, the alert Hoerner scored, with Busch taking third.
Dansby Swanson doubled in Busch to make it 4-2 [VIDEO].
Yet another “crooked number” rally from the Cubs, who have had multiple innings like that in recent games.
The Nats got one of those runs back in the bottom of the fifth on a double, ground out and wild pitch.
Then the Cubs flashed some glove. José Tena led off the bottom of the sixth with a single, but PCA threw him out trying to stretch it into a double [VIDEO].
CJ Abrams, the next hitter, also singled — and then Bethancourt threw him out trying to steal. Both of those plays were close and the Nats might have challenged — but they didn’t have their challenge remaining because they had lost it on the play in the third.
Since Bethancourt came to the Cubs, he has thrown out five of seven runners trying to steal against him. What a breath of fresh air.
The Cubs extended their lead in the seventh. Nico led off with a single and one out later stole second, his 27th steal of the year.
Then this happened [VIDEO].
Bethancourt’s grounder dribbled in front of the plate, where Nats catcher Keibert Ruiz seemed to have caught Nico off second — but threw the ball into center field, far enough that Hoerner was able to score. Bethancourt stood there, apparently thinking the ball was foul, and was thrown out.
Assad had a decent outing, three runs in six innings, with four strikeouts. Here’s a summary of his start [VIDEO].
Interesting note on Assad and strikeouts (he had four in this one):
Tyson Miller, who had a rough outing Friday, came right back for this one and was much better, allowing a two-out single but finishing the inning scoreless with a pair of strikeouts. I like the way Counsell comes right back with a guy like this, who has had much success, after just one bad outing.
In the top of the eighth, the Cubs put some more runners on base. With one out, Seiya Suzuki singled and one out later stole second. Paredes was hit by a pitch, and then this happened [VIDEO].
I thought that was a good send by Willie Harris. It took a great throw by Dylan Crews, playing in just his fifth MLB game, to throw out Suzuki, and he made one.
Jorge López, who hadn’t pitched since Aug. 23 in part because of a groin injury suffered Monday, threw the eighth. With two out, he issued a walk and then Abrams hit a ball down the right-field line that Cody Bellinger couldn’t catch. It was called foul, and since the Nats had no challenge, they asked for a crew-chief review, which ended as “call stands.” Abrams then grounded out to end the inning. Here’s how it happened [VIDEO].
Porter Hodge was given the closing assignment for this one. He allowed a one-out single and walk, then struck out Crews and James Wood to end it for the save, his third. Here’s the final out [VIDEO].
The Cubs thus finish August with a 18-8 record, their best calendar month since they went 19-8 in May 2021. That got them to 70 wins, and they have 26 games remaining. Can they go 18-8 to finish with 88 wins, or even 19-7 to finish with 89? And will that be enough for a postseason spot? “As always, we await developments.”
As of this writing, Jameson Taillon is still expected to start Sunday’s series finale against the Nats. We’ve all heard about Jordan Wicks likely being added to the roster when it expands tomorrow, but unless something changes, Wicks probably starts against the Pirates when the Cubs return to Wrigley Field.
Lefthander Mitchell Parker will go for the Nationals as the Cubs go for another series sweep, six wins in a row and an 8-1 road trip. Game time Sunday is 12:35 p.m. CT and TV coverage will be via Marquee Sports Network. Sunday’s BCB game preview will post at 10:30 a.m. CT.
