Any promising signs the Cubs had shown in the first two games against the Pirates evaporated in an 8-6 loss Thursday.
The Cubs (79-74) lost the series, dropping two of three to a Pirates team that has been all but mathematically eliminated from the playoffs. They are tied for the third National League wild-card spot with the Marlins, who own the tiebreaker, and sit two games back of the Diamondbacks.
“That’s not a good team that just took two out of three from us — or not our caliber team, I believe,” manager David Ross said. “We’ve just got to turn it around. It’s on me, it’s on the guys in that room.”
The Cubs didn’t score until the seventh inning. They rallied for six runs in the late innings, but after an error by shortstop Dansby Swanson early in the game led to two unearned runs and high-leverage reliever Julian Merryweather allowed multiple runs for the first time since July, six wasn’t enough.
Ross also pointed to a couple of missed calls at key points — a ball called against reliever Brad Boxberger that should have been a strike, leading to a walk to begin the eighth inning instead of a strikeout, and a high curveball called strike three rather than ball four on Seiya Suzuki as the Cubs were making another push in the ninth.
“There’s stuff all over we can point to, but it’s time to put up wins,” Ross said. “No excuses. We’ve got to put up wins.”
Regardless of any calls, even in big moments, if the Cubs had played cleaner defense, it would have been a closer game. If the bullpen had issued fewer walks, the offense might have been able to close the gap. If the offense had capitalized on opportunities earlier, it would have taken pressure off the pitching staff.
“When things don’t go your way, it’s easy to look around and say, ‘Why can’t we do it?’ ” Swanson said. “And it’s not that we can’t; it’s just that we didn’t. And everyone in this locker room believes in one another and knows that it’s just a matter of time [until] things get rolling. And hopefully that starts tomorrow.”
The Rockies come to town next in what has turned into a pivotal series. If the Cubs play the way they did Thursday, they’ll almost certainly watch their playoff chances shrink.
“I know this group,” Ross said. “They’ll come back tomorrow resilient as heck.”
Candelario circling return date
Corner infielder Jeimer Candelario (strained lower back) is cleared for full activity in the coming days, Ross said. He’s scheduled to work out on the field Friday as long as it isn’t raining.
“The trainers are trying to be a hair cautious, so when he gets out there, he can stay,” Ross said. “So hopefully we’re looking at the back end of the weekend or after the day off.”
Alzolay encouraged by progress
Closer Adbert Alzolay (strained right forearm) has been throwing long toss this week and told the Sun-Times it has been going really well. He hopes to move on to throwing off the mound Friday.
His progress since landing on the 15-day injured list last week has been promising.
Alzolay becomes eligible to return from the IL on Monday, the day off before the Cubs open a three-game series against the NL East-winning Braves. He remains hopeful that he’ll be ready to return for that series.
