With a two-run lead entering the bottom of the 9th against the Brewers – the team chasing them in the standings, and winner of the previous two games – the Cubs probably felt a little bit like Cubs fans were feeling at that moment. Please. Finish. This. Off.
Fortunately, Pedro Strop has been excellent since being tasked with fill-in closer duties, so the odds were good that the Cubs would indeed hold on for the two-run win. But things got considerably uncomfortable when the first batter reached via a walk (featuring two strikes that were called balls) and then Christian Yelich singled to bring the winning run to the plate with nobody out.
Strop then had to face Eric Thames, Lorenzo Cain, and Curtis Granderson (who’d already homered in the game) to close out the 9th … which he did, and then he celebrated as only Pedro Strop can. Enjoy:
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