Baseball is so stupid. Why do we do this to ourselves for at least six straight months. The Cubs have been down real bad for the past week and they were on their way to blowing another late-inning lead to the Brewers, but Ian Happ stepped up and for at least a bit longer he’s keeping hope alive on the north side.
The Cubs had a 6-2 lead in the eighth inning, but they couldn’t hold on after David Ross called on his two best relievers. Mark Leiter Jr. gave up a pair of earned runs and so did Adbert Alzolay in the bottom of the ninth.
Meanwhile, in extra innings the Cubs hit into a double play, as a rocket off the bat of Jared Young ended with Christopher Morel getting doubled off second base. That line drive from Young had an expected batting average of nearly .800. Truly unlucky shit for the Cubs.
Daniel Palencia made his MLB debut on the same day he was called up to the majors and he had a great view of Happ’s heroics. Happ first threw out Andruw Monasterio at home and then Cubs catcher Miguel Amaya fired a bullet to second to throw out Owen Miller to keep the Cubs alive.
Nico Hoerner came up with an infield, two-out single to put the Cubs ahead 7-6 in the 11th and then Happ sealed the victory by throwing out the second base runner at home in as many innings.
This could have been another nail in the coffin of the 2023 Cubs. Just the nature of consecutive blown leads. Terrible vibes. Let’s hope this can be a turning point because the Cubs really need something to give them a spark after the past week of miserable losses.
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