SAN DIEGO — Christopher Morel’s towering grand slam, the first of his career, soared into Petco Park’s left field second deck Tuesday.
“Super-special in the moment,” he said. “My first year playing every day. … All offseason I was working hard. The guys showed me I can do it. Just trying to be more consistent, learn from the bad days. We need to keep doing that.”
Morel, who is off to a hot start as the Cubs’ everyday cleanup hitter, was responsible for most of the team’s run-scoring in a 5-1 win against the Padres on Tuesday.
Since Morel’s debut in 2022, the Cubs have lauded the spark plug he can be for the team. But his approach leading up to the grand slam reflected the adjustments he’s made over the past year to provide that kind of offensive boost more consistently.
“My passion was under control,” Morel said. “Trying to get my pitch, not trying to do too much. One at a time. Thinking, one run is good for the team. Just put the ball in play.”
Christopher Morel 🤝 SLAM DIEGO 💣 pic.twitter.com/yZRTZTCz8l
— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) April 10, 2024
The Cubs were up 1-0 in the fifth, thanks to a solo homer by Yan Gomes to lead off the inning, with the bases loaded and no outs.
Morel watched a first-pitch ball off the plate. Then Padres right-hander Stephen Kolek came back with another outside sinker, this one brushing the edge of the zone and called ball two.
Then Kolek went to his slider but missed over the plate. Morel was ready.
“One of those that off the bat you know it’s a homer,” manager Craig Counsell said.
Just trying to put the ball in play paid off.
The Cubs scored all their runs in that inning. But between rookie Ben Brown holding the Padres to three hits and no runs for 4 ⅔ innings in his first major-league start, and the bullpen doing their part to seal the win, five runs was plenty.
“I was trying to have a moment there for a second,” Gomes joked about his solo shot, “and then Morel comes in and hits his first grand slam, and then it’s about him.
“But it was great. It was one of those moments that, [if] we keep putting guys on, things are going to happen. And definitely a great way to bounce back from [Monday’s loss].”
Not this time
As left-hander Drew Smyly and catcher Yan Gomes broke toward the slow roller in between them Tuesday, there was a sense of deja vu.
The last time they’d been involved in a play like that, it had ended Smyly’s perfect game bid against the Dodgers into the eighth inning last April. The Cubs had shirts made with an image of Gomes trying to hurdle Smyly but landing on him instead. It just so happened to be David Peralta, who signed a minor-league deal with the Cubs this offseason, who had that fateful hit.
On Tuesday, Smyly and Gomes avoided the same fate. Smyly let Gomes take Fernando Tatis Jr.’s swinging bunt, and Gomes threw him out at first.
“We should have a t-shirt made,” Gomes said, “that says ‘I can make that play.’”
Merryweather reacts
Reliever Julian Merryweather (rib stress fracture) won’t be throwing for at least four weeks, but he’s with the team in San Diego.
“At the time, it felt like more of a muscle thing, a minor muscle thing,” Merryweahter said this week. “So I was hoping for maybe a week or two down. So, this is a little surprising, but we’re just gonna take a day today and go from there.”
