Ivy League Cubs

By: Jacob Zanolla

It all fell apart Monday night for the Cubs. Dansby Swanson’s solo home run and Ian Happ’s 2-run triple had given them a 3-0 lead, and Jameson Taillon’s stellar outing of seven scoreless innings, had given them a comfortable lead heading into the 8th inning. Taillon was just around 90 pitches, but didn’t go out for the 8th, which I get. He appeared to be dealing with some back issues, so it’s better to keep him there and hand the ball over to someone you trust, like Jorge Lopez.

After two bloop singles, a pair of home runs gave the Pirates a 4-3 lead within a span of about four minutes. Patrick Wisdom pinch hit for Michael Busch again (why), and later missed a ground ball that Busch probably could have made a play on. Cody Bellinger followed this up by throwing said ground ball about as inaccurate as possible, letting Nick Gonzales get to third base. Gonzales didn’t score, but it was still an absolute mess of a finish by the Cubs.

Craig Counsell delivered more bad news after the game, announcing that Justin Steele would be scratched from his Tuesday start, and Kyle Hendricks would be taking his place. The Steele injury is bad enough, although the severity is unknown as of now.

Elbow Soreness is never good, and the first worry is that it would be something related to Tommy John. Hoyer didn’t sound too worried, but that’s always something you have to keep in mind when discussing injuries to pitchers.

Steele said on Tuesday that the results are “ok”, which isn’t amazing. However, he says he plans to pitch later this season, so that’s definitely a positive.

Kyle Hendricks starting in his place isn’t great, at all. There are a few options, such as Brandon Birdsell or Caleb Killian, that could have gone instead. However, Killian hasn’t been doing well, and Birdsell still hasn’t debuted, so Hendricks is kind of the only viable option. He allowed six earned runs in 1.2 innings last week against the Pirates, only for the Cubs to come back in historical fashion. He now holds a 6.75 ERA on the season, although the 5.39 FIP makes it look a little better.

Facing Paul Skenes is always something you hate to see, but having Hendricks on the mound makes it worse. The one positive is that Hendricks is at Wrigley, with a 3.31 ERA in his career when at home.

He’s often been clutch when we need him the most, so in no way is the game a wash. Chances are he’ll surprise me and do well, because after, he’s facing the Pirates. The season is finishing up, and it’s up to the professor to keep the Cubs alive.

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