CINCINNATI – Never mind Kris Bryant’s power-hitting heroics on Monday. Or manager Joe Maddon’s mad-scientist roster alchemy on Tuesday.
The lasting impact of the Cubs’ sweep of the Reds this week might have more to do with the skinny guy who finished Wednesday’s 9-2 victory on the mound.
Since a five-game debut last September, rookie right-hander Carl Edwards has spent barely a week in the majors this season. But his huge performance in Tuesday’s 11th inning – when he retired Joey Votto, Brandon Phillips and Jay Bruce in a 1-2-3 inning — resonated long after the Cubs won that game in 15 innings.
“He got to 2-0 on Votto, then after that, man, he just took command of the inning,” manager Joe Maddon said. “You could just see from standing [in the dugout] there was jump at the end of his pitches. That was good to see.”
By Wednesday, he was coming into the game an inning early, to clean up veteran Justin Grimm’s two-on, none-out jam, and retired six of the seven he faced – lighting up the stadium radar gun with upper-90s velocity.
“If we could start working him in, and he gets comfortable that could be a big boost to us,” said Maddon, whose bullpen has slumped into a significant weakness in recent weeks – putting the front office on high alert to land bullpen help before the Aug. 1 trade deadline.
“My thing is just to get the guys’ trust,” said Edwards, whose only run allowed in four outings since his callup was on a home run by the first batter he faced (Cardinals’ Aledmys Diaz).
“Get the whole team’s trust and get [Maddon’s] trust,” he said.
Edwards, 24, has eight strikeouts and just one walk in his 5 2/3 innings (1.59 ERA).
“I felt pretty good about going out there [Tuesday night] in that high-powered situation and to go through the heart of their lineup the way I did,” he said. “Actually, that took a lot off me.”
