For more than two months, veteran Jorge López has been one of the best relievers in the major leagues.
López entered Monday’s series opener against the Pittsburgh Pirates owning the fifth-lowest ERA (0.76) and fourth-best Left on Base Percentage (97.5%) among relievers since he debuted for the Cubs on June 28.
His worst outing as a Cub came at a disastrous time.
López had allowed only one home run against 93 batters in 23 2/3 innings with the Cubs when he took over a three-run lead from starter Jameson Taillon to begin the eighth inning. It didn’t take long to exceed that home run total.
Within eight pitches of López coming in, Pirates left fielder Bryan Reynolds slugged a game-tying, three-run home run. Two batters later, Andrew McCutchen hit a go-ahead solo home run off López that ultimately propelled the Cubs to a 5-3 loss, snapping their six-game winning streak. The Cubs (71-67) couldn’t produce a late rally to answer Pittsburgh’s big hits.
“I just felt it snowballed and couldn’t execute the next couple of pitches,” López said. “I’ve been doing good for the last two months so unfortunately to have the home run and give the win to them, it’s something you don’t expect that the way we have been playing.”
Two infield singles set up Reynold’s crushing home run. Each of those three pitches was a fastball that caught too much of the zone.
“He’s been wonderful, he’s pitched wonderfully, he obviously didn’t have a good night tonight,” manager Craig Counsell said. ” … We didn’t get it done tonight.”
Jameson Taillon, Mean 92mph Front Door Two Seamer.
pic.twitter.com/wOelwWWECi
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) September 3, 2024
Taillon was in control through the night en route to seven shutout innings in his second consecutive start against the Pirates, who managed only three hits off the right-hander. Counsell called it an easy decision to pull Taillon after 89 pitches, noting, “there’s a reason we gave him an extra day” by slotting Jordan Wicks into Sunday’s start and moving him to Monday.
Taillon understood Counsell’s decision to go to the bullpen with the Pirates’ 9-1-2 hitters due up in the eighth.
“I wasn’t in there pounding the table trying to stay in or anything,” Taillon said. “When you hear Jorge López is coming in behind you, it’s like, yeah, that’s one of our dudes, he’s one of our leverage guys and he’s been doing it so it just is what it is.”
Adding to a rough night, Justin Steele was scratched from his start Tuesday because of left elbow soreness, Counsell announced postgame. The Cubs didn’t provide any further information about the ailment, with more insight expected before Tuesday’s game. Right-hander Kyle Hendricks, who was available out of the bullpen Monday night, is scheduled to start in Steele’s place. The Pirates tagged Hendricks for six runs and eight hits in 1 2/3 innings Wednesday at PNC Park.
“Steely has been awesome for the last couple of years here, he’s a guy we all look to when it’s his day, and you see Steele on the mound you know you’re going to get a good effort, you’re going to be in the game,” Taillon said. “So, yeah, it stinks. But from everything I’ve heard we’re hoping it’s just a quick thing. He means a lot to this group.”
As the Cubs, 3 1/2 games back, try to hunt down the Atlanta Braves in the final National League wild-card spot and attempt to leapfrog the New York Mets in the process, many in the clubhouse understand that feeling of being chased. At this point last year, the Cubs sat in the No. 2 NL wild-card position, three games up on the last spot and owning a 79.3% chance of reaching the postseason, according to FanGraphs. Those odds eventually increased as high as 88% on Sept. 11 before the Cubs’ performance cratered over the final three weeks, causing them to miss the playoffs by one game.
Now the Cubs are on the other side of the chase.
“We’re all a product of our experiences to some degree for sure,” Counsell said. “We all use our experiences to help us into the next moment. But I think the better way maybe to do it is to live in the now and live in the now of the competition that we got going tonight, and let that determine what’s going to happen.”