The Chicago Cubs met their American League doppelgangers Friday afternoon for the start of a three-game series at Wrigley Field.
Like the underachieving Cubs, the Toronto Blue Jays were expected to compete for a postseason spot with All-Stars Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Kevin Gausman and Bo Bichette. Instead, they’ve been under .500 since April 30, frequently coming close to breaking even before falling backward again.
It’s a path the Cubs know quite well. After pulling within one game of .500 on Saturday for the first time since May 28, they were swept in a three-game series at Cleveland.
They tease fans into believing there’s still a chance, then pull the rug out from under them. It’s the Cubs Way.
It looked like another lost cause Friday when closer Héctor Neris did his “Heart Attack Héctor” thing in the ninth inning, balking a runner home with the bases loaded and serving up a two-out, game-tying triple to George Springer.
Neris left to a chorus of boos from the crowd of 39,614, but the Cubs bounced back for a 6-5, 10-inning win over the Blue Jays, taking another step forward.
“We can be upset that the game got tied, but he had to make big pitches to get (Daulton) Varsho out and keep the game tied and give us a chance,” manager Craig Counsell said. “No one likes to give up runs. Hector did today. He gave up the lead, but he kept it there, but he got the job done. And it’s a win, and that’s the big thing.
“It’d be great to pick how every win (goes) and make them beautiful, but a win is a win.”
The key for the Cubs is not to take two steps back. Every game matters more with the schedule running out and a sizable crowd ahead of them in the National League wild-card race. They had a 3% chance of making the postseason before the game and have yet to go on a prolonged run since a 17-9 stretch to start the season.
Starter Kyle Hendricks, who allowed two runs (one earned) over five innings, said the Cubs “know exactly where we’re at” in the race.
Photos: Chicago Cubs 6, Toronto Blue Jays 5 (10) at Wrigley Field
“And it’s been that way for a while,” Hendricks said. “So it’s the opportunity that’s in front of us every single day. So today, it doesn’t matter how it looks, how we get it done. A win is a win, so that was big today.”
The Cubs finished with only seven hits, but four were home runs from Cody Bellinger, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Miguel Amaya and Ian Happ. Seiya Suzuki’s RBI single in the 10th, his first walk-off hit as a Cub, helped them avoid what would have been a heartbreaking loss.
Suzuki said through an interpreter that he was mad at himself for “past at-bats and other stuff,” which included two called strikeouts. One of them was a call he disputed.
“No comment,” he said with a grin when asked if that was why he was mad.
The Cubs can console themselves with the notion they’re still in contention for a wild-card spot with 39 games left. But that also helps to obscure the fact they began the day 10½ games behind the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central.
Counsell was aggravated at the line of questioning after the win regarding Neris’ blown save and a series of defensive misplays in the fourth by Hendricks and Dansby Swanson. The crowd showered the team with boos after Swanson’s errant throw.
Counsell should understand that his team was built to win the division and that the Cubs charge some of the highest ticket prices in the game for their product. When you’re buying a Porsche, you don’t expect to go home driving a Honda Civic.
The Cubs shouldn’t have to be playing catch-up in mid-August for a wild-card spot yet have put themselves in that position for the second straight year.
The highlight of the afternoon was when Stephen Colbert stopped by the bleachers to film a segment for “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” which is filming here next week during the Democratic National Convention. He also performed “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” during the seventh-inning stretch and before leaving the press box was reminded of a joke he made in 2022 about former Cubs player Frank Schwindel.
The first baseman, pitching in relief in Yankee Stadium, served up a home run on a 35-mph eephus pitch. “I’m no baseball player,” Colbert said on the show, “and neither apparently is Frank Schwindel.”
A perturbed Schwindel later said he didn’t appreciate the joke, adding: “I’d like to see him do it.” He facetiously challenged Colbert to face him at Wrigley Field, but it never made it back to the talk-show host. Colbert had to be reminded Friday who Schwindel was, telling reporters “I’ve told a lot of jokes, it’s been a long time” since 2022.
“You could’ve hit off Frank Schwindel!” a reporter told Colbert.
“A lot of people could,” Colbert cracked.
Soon after Colbert exited, Neris came into the game and posted the 22nd blown save of the season by the Cubs bullpen. But Suzuki saved the day, and the crowd that booed Swanson and Neris ventured into Wrigleyville happy, knowing a win is a win.
It’s the Cubs Way.
