Column: Chicago Cubs blow a big lead by giving up
On the first summerlike afternoon at Wrigley Field with the wind blowing out, a game that started out as an intense pitching duel turned on a dime.
Like the stock market reacting to a tariff announcement, the Chicago Cubs bullpen plunged in a 10-run eighth inning, blowing a six-run lead in stunning fashion, before the offense rallied for six runs in the bottom of the inning in a wild and crazy 13-11 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks.
An all-time choke turned into a thrilling comeback win, leaving everyone but Kyle Tucker amazed.
“That’s kind of baseball,” said Tucker, who provided the go-ahead, two-run home run in the eighth. “There’s a lot of ups and downs in this game, especially with how many games we play.”
Maybe, but only one game in Cubs history saw both teams combined for 21 runs over two innings as the Cubs and Diamondbacks did in the seventh and eighth, turning a 2-1 game into a 13-11 slugfest in the blink of an eye. That was on Sept. 4, 1893, in a 15-10 win over the Baltimore Orioles at the West Side Grounds, when the Cubs were called the Colts. The attendance that day was 3,620, so maybe your great-great-great-great-grandfather was there.
It took 132 years for history to repeat itself, and not too many fans alive have witnessed a game quite like this one.
“If you’ve seen that one, you’ve been around for a while,” manager Craig Counsell said.
A few thousand fans from Friday’s crowd of 39,109 left after watching the Cubs bullpen implode with a 7-1 lead, booing them off the field after the 10-run inning. They missed the Cubs scoring six runs on three home runs in the bottom of the inning, ignited by Carson Kelly’s three-run shot — his second of the game and sixth in only 31 at-bats — followed by Tucker’s two-run line shot to right.
Kelly said the Cubs players didn’t get down in the dugout after the Diamondbacks put up the 10-spot, knowing there was plenty of time left.
“We have an offense that can rally off, and it happens quick,” he said. “On a day like today when the wind is blowing out, you never know what’s going to happen.”
Photos: Chicago Cubs beat Arizona Diamondbacks 13-11 at Wrigley Field
It all started out like just another lazy Friday afternoon at the ballpark.
The first of Kelly’s two home runs, a two-run shot off Corbin Burnes in the second, gave the Cubs an early lead. Colin Rea, who replaced Justin Steele in the rotation, pitched well into the fifth, and the bullpen held serve with a 2-1 lead in the seventh.
Cubs left fielder Ian Happ (8) is congratulated by teammates at the plate after hitting a grand slam in the seventh inning against the Diamondbacks on April 18, 2025, at Wrigley Field. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune) Cubs left fielder Ian Happ celebrates in the dugout after hitting a grand slam in the seventh inning against the Diamondbacks on April 18, 2025, at Wrigley Field. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Ian Happ broke the game open with a grand slam off Ryne Nelson, and the Cubs added another run to make it 7-1. That seemed comfortable enough of a lead for some fans to call it a day and go home or retreat to the local bars.
But not this year. And definitely not with this bullpen, which ranked 27th in the majors with a 4.92 ERA entering the day.
Jordan Wicks, just called up from Triple-A Iowa, loaded the bases on three straight singles to start the eighth. Porter Hodge promptly served up a grand slam to Eugenio Suárez and a run-scoring single to pull the Diamondbacks within two, causing minor palpitations in the stands and President Jed Hoyer’s suite.
After Geraldo Perdomo’s infield single made it 7-6, Randall Grichuk’s grounder to third baseman Gage Workman skipped past his glove as the tying run scored, and Kelly dropped a relay throw to allow the go-ahead run. No errors were charged on the play. Ethan Roberts came in and served up a three-run home run to Lourdes Gurriel Jr. to make it 11-7.
Cubs catcher Carson Kelly kneels as Diamondbacks left fielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (12) is congratulated by teammates after hitting a three-run home run in the eighth inning on April 18, 2025, at Wrigley Field. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune) Cubs reliever Ethan Roberts reacts after giving up a three-run home run to Diamondbacks left fielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. in the eighth inning on April 18, 2025, at Wrigley Field. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Boos rained down on Roberts, but they were really aimed at Hoyer for not fixing the bullpen.
“You’ve just got to stay locked in,” Kelly said. “Obviously you don’t want to give up 10 in an inning. You don’t want to do that.”
No, that’s typically a bad sign, though the Cubs won two games previously when the other team scored 10 runs in an inning — the 1893 game against the Orioles and an 11-10 win over the Cincinnati Reds on Sept. 26, 1912, at the West Side Grounds. Maybe your great-great-great grandfather was there.
Cubs right fielder Kyle Tucker is congratulated by Ian Happ, left, after hitting a two-run home run in the eighth inning against the Diamondbacks on April 18, 2025, at Wrigley Field. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune) Cubs designated hitter Seiya Suzuki, left, is congratulated by teammate Dansby Swanson after hitting a solo home run in the eighth inning against the Diamondbacks on April 18, 2025, at Wrigley Field. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
When all seemed lost, the Cubs responded in the bottom of the eighth. After Kelly’s shot and a Happ single, Tucker’s line shot to right put the Cubs back in front and turned the ballpark into a mosh pit. Seiya Suzuki followed with a solo shot to make it 13-11.
No one breathed a sigh of relief when closer Ryan Pressly appeared, but he pitched a scoreless ninth to notch a would-be save. But in another scoring oddity, the official scorer credited Pressly with the win, rationalizing that Roberts’ outing was “ineffective and brief.”
Cubs closer Ryan Pressly celebrates after closing out the Diamondbacks in the ninth inning on April 18, 2025, at Wrigley Field. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Just another day at Wrigley Field, a ballpark where you don’t know how it will play until you wake up and go to work.
“I can’t imagine any other team comes to their home park and is checking the flags on the way in, checking Lake Shore Drive on the way up and seeing if the waves are crashing or if it’s calm,” Happ said. “It can play two different ways. There weren’t a ton of cheap ones today. … We’ll see what she brings tomorrow.”
Kelly, who has not had a WAR above 0.9 since we played in Arizona in 2021, leads all catchers with 18 RBIs and heard fans chanting his last name after his second home run Friday.
“That was pretty cool,” he said. “I’ve never had that before. Very, very special.”
Cubs catcher Carson Kelly, left, rounds the bases after hitting a three-run home run in the eighth inning against the Diamondbacks on April 18, 2025, at Wrigley Field. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune) Cubs catcher Carson Kelly is congratulated in the dugout after hitting a three-run home run in the eighth inning against the Diamondbacks on April 18, 2025, at Wrigley Field. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Has he ever had a stretch like this in his 10-year career?
“Not that I can think of,” he said.
With Kelly and Tucker pounding the ball, Hoyer’s offseason acquisitions could be saving him from putting his house on the market in November. But then the bullpen shows up and he’s under fire again.
With Steele out for the season after undergoing elbow reconstruction surgery on his left elbow Friday, the Cubs turn to Plan B in Rea. Instead of signing Burnes for $210 million last winter, the Cubs signed Rea, his former Brewers teammate, to a one-year, $5 million deal. Every dollar counts in Rickettsville.
But Rea pitched 4 2/3 strong innings Friday, allowing one run on five hits, and was in line for the win before the bullpen collapsed.
The Cubs could use a variety of starters over the next few months to take Steele’s place and then reevaluate things at the trade deadline. Wicks, who was called up from Triple A on Friday to replace Luke Little in the pen, could get some starts. But first he needs to get some outs and got a quick hook from Counsell in his first outing.
Javier Assad is rehabbing at Iowa and could be in the mix, while Cade Horton, their top pitching prospect, also is at Iowa and inching closer to making his 2025 major-league debut with a 1.46 ERA and 18 strikeouts over 12 1/3 innings in three starts.
The Cubs are in no hurry to rush anyone, but the quick demotion of Little, who walked four hitters Wednesday in San Diego, suggests Counsell’s patience level with struggling relievers is running thin.
But on Friday the Cubs dodged a bullet, or several bullets, and came out smiling.
“It was a wild game but we kept going,” Counsell said. “There’s 27 outs in a game, and this kind of proves it, and you’re happy just to get out with a win.”