The Chicago Cubs entered Chase Field looking for some momentum in the National League playoff race. Instead, they left Phoenix with another disappointing series loss, this time at the hands of the Arizona Diamondbacks.
After winning the opener 7-0, the Cubs dropped the final two games with a 5-4 walk-off loss on Tuesday and a 2-0 shutout on Wednesday. The Cubs fell to 76-58 and have lost five of their last seven games as their pursuit of the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central along with staying first in the wild-card spot continues.
In the first game, Kevin Gausman allowed three hits and no runs over seven innings in his second start with the Cubs, throwing just 94 pitches. He struck out six and kept Arizona off the scoreboard.
The Cubs broke the game open in the sixth inning. Michael Conforto launched a two-run homer to make it 4-0 before Carson Kelly followed with a solo shot against his former team. Conforto reached base four times as Chicago cruised to a 7-0 victory.
For Gausman, it was an encouraging performance from a pitcher acquired to strengthen their rotation for the home stretch.
Tuesday's game was a bullpen collapse. Clay Holmes dominated for seven innings, allowing just two hits and striking out five. Chicago built a 4-0 lead behind Ian Happ's three-run homer in the fourth inning and an RBI single from Michael Busch in the sixth.
Arizona finally broke through against Daniel Palencia in the eighth inning, scoring three runs with two outs to cut Chicago's lead to 4-3. Palencia had recently returned to the Cubs after missing most of the season. He couldn't escape the inning.
The Cubs still had a chance to close out the game in the ninth. Jacob Webb allowed a one-out walk before Arizona's Ildemaro Vargas flew out. After pinch-runner Jose Fernandez stole second, rookie Ryan Waldschmidt came off the bench and crushed a two-run homer with two outs to give Arizona a 5-4 victory.
It was Webb's second consecutive appearance allowing a walk-off home run after he had gone 24 straight appearances without allowing a run. Webb’s record dropped to 6-4 on the season.
The Diamondbacks moved within one game of the San Diego Padres for the final National League wild-card spot.
In Game three, Matthew Boyd allowed only one run over six innings, giving up three hits and striking out five, but Arizona's Eduardo Rodríguez gave the Cubs a run for their money.
Rodríguez threw seven scoreless innings, allowing only two hits while striking out nine. The Cubs managed just two hits against the Diamondbacks' pitching staff and were shut out for the 13th time this season.
In the sixth inning, Pete Crow-Armstrong led off with a double and advanced to third with one out. With two outs, Crow-Armstrong attempted to steal home as Rodríguez delivered a pitch. Rodríguez appeared to step off the rubber during his delivery, but the umpires did not call a balk.
Crow-Armstrong was stranded at third. The Cubs failed to score, and Jordan Lawlar gave Arizona the lead with a solo home run in the bottom of the sixth.
After the game, crew chief Alfonso Márquez acknowledged that the umpires had missed the call.
Crow-Armstrong did not hold back.
"I saw four umpires miss a pretty obvious play. They're out there every day, just like we are. Their one job is to get calls right, and if they get it wrong, they're supposed to talk about it, figure it out and get it right. And they didn't." (via Bleacher Report)
The Cubs never recovered. Arizona added an insurance run in the eighth on a Ryan Waldschmidt sacrifice fly and completed the 2-0 victory.
Chicago has now suffered three walk-off losses in its last five games, with Jacob Webb allowing the decisive home runs in two of them. The Cubs' starting pitching, however, has provided plenty of reason for optimism.
Gausman and Holmes each delivered seven scoreless innings in the first two games, while Boyd allowed only one run over six innings in the finale. Across the three games, Cubs starters allowed one earned run over 20 innings. The problem has been finishing games.
Chicago's offense also struggled after the series opener, scoring just four runs over the final two games. Pete Crow-Armstrong, who has emerged as one of the leading candidates for the National League MVP award, went 1-for-12 in the series.
Chicago returns home Friday for a three-game series against the Cincinnati Reds, and the Cubs are still in control of their postseason path. But after another series filled with closing problems, trust in the bullpen late in games is becoming a concern.
