ATLANTA — In Adbert Alzolay and Michael Fulmer’s absence, Cubs relievers have settled into new roles over the last couple of weeks. With Alzolay expected to be activated Friday for the final series of the regular season against the Brewers, that experience could prove valuable. The stakes continue to rise as the Cubs try to keep their playoff hopes alive.
Sidearmer Jose Cuas, whom the Cubs acquired at the trade deadline, and lefty Drew Smyly, who was a starter for most of the year, have become manager David Ross’ go-tos when he needs to bring in a reliever with traffic on the bases.
He turned to both in such situations on Wednesday, in the Cubs’ 6-5 extra-inning loss. Both delivered.
Smyly replaced starter Jameson Taillon in the seventh inning after second baseman Nico Hoerner’s uncharacteristic throwing error sunk a potential double play. Smyly retired Michael Harris II, Sean Murphy and Kevin Pillar in order, on a groundout, strikeout and popout.
“He was one of our better starters for a long time,” Taillon said of Smyly after the game. “And he goes down there as a veteran guy, and it probably would have been easy to shut it down or mentally check out. He really wants the ball in the big moments.”
In the ninth inning, setup man Mark Leiter Jr. made his first appearance in a week after getting some time to recover from a nagging injury. After getting Matt Olson to pop out, Leiter fell behind 3-0 to Marcell Ozuna. Leiter put his fourth pitch too far over the plate, and Ozuna crushed it for a game-tying solo homer.
Leiter then gave up a double to Harris. That’s when Cuas took the mound, with the winning run on second.
Harris advanced to third on a wild pitch, raising the stakes that much more. But Cuas induced Murphy and Pillar to ground out, getting out of the jam and sending the game into extra-innings.
“I feel like I’m always bringing him in with real traffic and real moments, and he’s done nothing but answer the bell,” Ross said. “So he’s been great for us. Hopefully he continues to be that through the end of the season.”
Short bullpen
As much as relievers have responded to shifting roles, the strain put on the back end of the bullpen has been a theme for months. And the Cubs leaned on the bullpen again Thursday when Ross pulled starter Marcus Stroman after he allowed four runs, two of which were earned, in two innings.
This time, a young trio of Javier Assad, Luke Little and Hayden Wesneski held the Braves to one run, allowed by Assad, in six innings.
The Cubs could use more high-leverage depth. When president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer looks back on the trade deadline and offseason before that, does he stand by his process?
“The deadline, we had a lot of factors that [made it so] there weren’t really arms that we felt like we could access at that time,’’ Hoyer said. ‘‘And you look around, a lot of teams had the same challenge. It comes down to building up that depth, and I think you’re ultimately going to have to rely on player development.
“For a huge chunk of the season, that was effective. It hasn’t been effective of late. So I have to look at myself and say, what are we going to do differently for next year?”
Stroman contract questions
Early in the year, Stroman was poised to opt out of his contract after the season and claim a hefty contract in free agency. Injuries to his hips and then rib cartilage, which sidelined him for a month and a half, gave him another factor to consider.
“I haven’t processed that yet, to be honest with you,” Stroman said. “There’s so much that could happen. So we’ll see how it plays out. Definitely not looking too far into the future just yet.”
