Manny Pina’s solo home run in the eighth inning proved to be the difference in the Cubs’ 5-4 loss on Saturday.
It was walks that hurt the Cubs in Friday’s loss against the Brewers, but in Saturday’s game, it was the long ball that sunk the Cubs.
The Cubs and Brewers were tied at 4 entering the bottom of the eighth inning with reliever Scott Effross in to face Manny Pina, who had already gone deep against starter Justin Steele in the second inning.
Effross got ahead of Pina in the count, but on the third pitch of the at-bat, hung a slider over the heart of the plate and the Brewers’ catcher didn’t miss it. Pina’s second homer of the game gave the Brewers the late 5-4 lead. Five of Pina’s 12 homers this season have come against the Cubs.
Cubs’ pitchers would allow four solo homers in the game, leading to four Milwaukee runs. The Cubs’ offense scored on a pair of home runs by Ian Happ and Willson Contreras.
Steele didn’t have the worst performance during his four innings of work, but struggled with his command in the game. He walked four batters and also struck out four.
“I thought it was good stuff,” manager David Ross said. “I think we can clean up a little bit. Just getting in the zone a little bit more. The two-out walks, got to be better in that area. But I thought the stuff was great. I thought the fastball looked really lively.”
“Just being a little bit more consistent with my delivery. I felt like there was some moments in that start where I kind of lost my release point,” Steele said. “I started trying to find different ways to try and find it again. I think in the fourth inning is when I kind of found it again and was starting to find a groove.”
Thompson’s return around the corner
Right-hander Keegan Thompson responded well after his bullpen session on Friday and should make his return to the team in the coming days. The plan for Thompson, who is currently on the 10-day injured list with right shoulder inflammation, is to finish the season in the starting rotation. The Cubs’ right-hander is 3-3 with a 3.54 ERA in 30 games this season, but has a 10.57 ERA in three starts since entering the rotation in August.
“Keegan’s good,” Ross said. “We’ll kind of evaluate and talk about some things tonight after the game. See where everything stands, who’s healthy and how we use the pen. Probably make a move here in the next day or two.”
Adam makes miraculous return to the mound
Right-hander Jason Adam made his triumphant return to the mound for the Iowa Cubs on Friday night, tossing a scoreless inning with two strikeouts.
Adam suffered a nasty compound dislocation of his left ankle in May while fielding fly balls during batting practice while in Des Moines and had to have emergency surgery to repair the damage. Considering the severity of the injury, it looked like Adam’s season would be over, but he was able to work his way back.
The right-hander has a 2-1 record with a 5.06 ERA in 22 games with the Cubs since signing before the 2020 season.
“That’s great news,” Ross said. “ Happy for him. That had to be a pretty tough road back. And I know that’s a pretty nasty injury. So that’s great news.”