Busch goes yard again as Cubs win road series against Mariners |
SEATTLE — If you had said 15 games into the season that the Chicago Cubs (9-6) would be down, both Justin Steele and Jameson Taillon, Ben Brown, and Jordan Wicks would have failed to reach five innings in any start, and their bullpen would've blown three games, where would this team be? Most of you would be happy to be at or around .500, let alone above .500, which is where this team is sitting.
Credit Craig Counsell for continuing to do what he can with the roster given to him. He is just trying to maneuver through a difficult stretch while shorthanded. Looking to pick up a series win against the Seattle Mariners (6-10) at T-Mobile Park, Javier Assad took the ball against Luis Castillo in a matchup of two contrasting styles. When you look at some of the Cubs early season MVPs, Assad has to be near the top of the list as he continues to pitch very well since joining the rotation. That continued in this one as the right-hander pitched into the sixth, allowing two runs and striking out six as the Cubs did what they needed to do to secure the win 3-2. Javier Assad's 3rd and 4th Ks pic.twitter.com/3sk0xpzQfp Anytime you face a pitcher as tough as Castillo, you need to chip away when you can. With the hard-throwing right-hander striking out nine in his six innings, the Cubs knew they were in for a long day, as he was on top of his game early. Fortunately for the Cubs, they were able to jump on him early as a Seiya Suzuki double was followed by a Cody Bellinger single to put the Cubs in front 1-0 in the first inning. Chicago would never trail, as they led from start to finish, which has been a theme in many of their wins. Chicago then had a chance to add on in the second, with Michael Busch and Yan Gomes picking up a pair of singles only to come away empty-handed. Given the early lead, Assad was able to settle in on the mound. He retired the first eight hitters he faced before allowing a walk, but he still faced one above the minimum through three. Given his effort on the mound, the Cubs did their best to reward him with even more support as Dansby Swanson led off the top of the fourth with a double to set the Cubs offense up. That was followed by one of the hottest hitters on the planet as Busch connected for his fifth homer of the season and his fourth straight game with a homer. That puts him one shy of the franchise record for consecutive games with a homer, which he will go for Monday night. Busch WHACKED 💥 Typically, a three-run lead may not seem like a lot, but given how Assad has pitched this season, three runs was more like five. He has a knack for limiting damage despite having several innings with runners on base. He continued to do that throughout this game before finally coming undone in the sixth. What started with a one-out JP Crawford single ended with the two-run Jorge Polanco homer, and just like that, it was 3-2. Following that blast, Assad was lifted and replaced by Yency Almonte, who finished off the sixth. In what was now a battle of the bullpens, Brett de Geus worked around a leadoff Nico Hoerner single in the top of the seventh before the Seattle offense threatened in the bottom half. Almonte didn't help himself too much as he hit the leadoff hitter ahead of a Mitch Garver walk as Mark Leiter Jr. entered the game with two on and no outs. Leiter Jr. has been by far the team's best reliever this season, and that continued as he needed just two pitches to record three outs, including an inning-ending double play, to keep the Cubs in front. Then came the bottom of the eighth, when Hector Neris not only came into the game but continued to struggle in terms of clean innings. Despite his 1.71 ERA last season, Neris' outings were a bit deceiving as none of them were as clean as you would think. That was again the case in this one as Neris walked the bases loaded four batters into the inning that put Seattle on the verge of taking the lead. Give Counsell credit; he could have yanked Neris right there, but he stuck with the veteran, who got out of the jam with an inning-ending double play to keep the Cubs in front. Dansby Swanson saves the day! #Cubs pic.twitter.com/goFbuUZjjf With Seattle still trailing by one and down to their final at-bats, it was up to Adbert Alzolay to lock things down as he, too, is off to a shaky start. To his credit, Alzolay has looked better as of late, and after striking out the first two hitters in the ninth, he was looking as good as he has all season. Then came Cal Raleigh's single to extend the inning as the Mariners had the tying runner on base. That would be as close as the Mariners would get, as Alzolay picked off Julio Rodriguez to end the game and lifted the Cubs to the 3-2 series win. What a way to end the game 😮 Chicago had eight hits in the ballgame, with Busch and Suzuki leading the way with two. Busch is now hitting .327 on the season, leading the team in homers (5), and has (11) RBIs. Chicago will close out their west coast trip this week as they open up a three-game set with Arizona on Monday. First road series win ☑️ Michael Busch after the win today. #Cubs pic.twitter.com/m30YnSu8p2 "It was a crazy last three innings, for sure."
Make that FOUR consecutive days with a home run for Michael Busch! pic.twitter.com/qpBXcrGo2L
CUBS WIN! pic.twitter.com/053nFgzgr6
Busch: 2-for-4, 2-run HR
Suzuki: 2-for-4, 2B, R
Cubs 'pen: 3.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 4 K pic.twitter.com/LhC6aPWseO
Craig Counsell on the Cubs' thrilling win in Seattle. pic.twitter.com/xZAquxMUZo
