The Chicago Cubs Dropped a Late Inning Heartbreaker to the Blue Jays
Making the third Major League start of his young career, the 24-year-old Javier Assad did more than anyone could have asked. It didn't seem an auspicious start for the Chicago Cubs, who handily jumped out to a 4-0 lead over the Toronto Blue Jays.
Despite a bases loaded jam in the first inning, Assad worked through trouble without allowing a run as he has in his first two starts, inducing a fly out from Cavan Biggio.
Facing the much maligned José Berrios, newly signed to a 7-year deal, the Cubs worked him for 10 hits and a walk through 5.2 innings. In the third inning Chicago got on the board with a groundball RBI from Willson Contreras.
The Cubs struck again in the fourth. A groundball single from Nico Hoerner gave the Cubs a 2-0 lead with none out and runners on the corners. Failing to capitalize further, Chicago again managed to strike in the sixth.
Berrios left the game in a fairly healthy spot for Toronto, unfortunately for him, the bullpen wasn't able to hold the Cubs in check with runners on second and third and two outs.
P.J. Higgins, electric all season, lined a double past George Springer in centerfield for a 4-0 lead. All of a sudden, the Cubs lead was very secure... too secure.
With Assad departing after just 80 pitches through five scoreless innings, it was the turn of the Cubs' bullpen to keep Toronto in check.
With Erich Uelman in for multi-inning relief, the Blue Jays were silenced in the sixth, but in the seventh, the offense awoke. With two baserunners on and none out for catcher Danny Jansen, the Blue Jays' backstop hammered a ball into deep left-center field. Only trailing by one, it now seemed the Cubs had a greater demand for insurance, a boon which would not come.
The Blue Jays took advantage of this fact again in the eighth, this time on an RBI single off the bat of Matt Chapman for the tie. The score would stay knotted at four for two and a half more innings to follow.
Yet, the Cubs' bullpen finally began to settle in, despite being unable to find any offense in the ninth, or even in the 10th with the Manfred runner on second, Brandon Hughes and Mark Leiter Jr. held the Blue Jays scoreless.
In the 11th it seemed like it would finally be the Cubs breaking through, but Franmil Reyes was greedy upon his lead-off single. In an attempt to stretch his hit to a double, Reyes was thrown out at second, leaving Seiya Suzuki stranded at third, unable to score with one out.
Failing to produce, the Cubs put themselves in a losing position. Again, Jansen strode to the plate with two on and again he came through, this time in the form of a walk-off single, scoring Chapman from second and ending the ballgame.
The Cubs and Blue Jays will face off again tomorrow, sending Marcus Stroman to the mound for the first time since his departure from Toronto in 2019.
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