The Cubs twice blew leads in this one, including one in the bottom of the 8th inning thanks to multiple Sergio Alcantara errors, and the losing streak has reached double digits. That’s two double digit losing streaks this year for the Cubs.
Down two runs in the 8th inning, with the bases loaded and two outs, the man you’d want coming to the plate came to the plate for the Cubs. That’s right. That guy right now is Frank Schwindel. Totally woulda called that back in April, right?
And Schwindel came through, doubling down the line to clear the bases and give the Cubs the lead. I smiled to myself and gave a little cheer in my family room. Here’s the weird world we’re in right now as Cubs fans: I know that losing is “better” for the Cubs than winning. Thus, coming back late in a losable game to a team the Cubs are “chasing” in the reverse standings is a “bad” outcome. … But I also like to enjoy baseball. And that was a fun moment. It got extinguished right quick in the bottom of the frame, but still. I’ll take whatever bits I can get to enjoy.
For the first time in a while, Zach Davies was really cruising in this one, locating well, and buzzing through the Marlins’ admittedly tepid lineup. He was set to go six scoreless innings when, with two outs, Sergio Alcantara threw one away, and the next batter hit a three-run homer. The runs were thus unearned, but it still felt like one of those “dude just can’t quite get through six, can he?” situations.
Speaking of Alcantara, who wound up kinda responsible for all five of the Marlins’ runs …