Giants get aggressive, but Cubs deliver late comeback in 11-8 win over Giants
The Cubs should have known what was in store Tuesday at Wrigley Field.
After being shut out by Justin Steele and the Cubs on Monday, San Francisco Giants manager Gabe Kapler sent a strong message to his team, which had scored just 1 run over three straight games, including two in San Diego.
"We have to be more aggressive," Kapler said after Monday's contest, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. "We (need to be) walking up to the plate and we're going to be on the offensive. We're going to be the ones who are forcing the action. Right now, we're a little defensive at the plate, and it's hurting us."
Kyle Hendricks' first pitch of Tuesday game happened to be right down the middle and Giants leadoff hitter Lamonte Wade Jr. was aggressive, sending it into the right-center field seats for a home run.
So San Francisco was mad as heck and not going to take it anymore, but this was a warm, windy, hitter-friendly night at Wrigley Field, which means anything is possible. Home runs by Seiya Suzuki and Christopher Morel powered a 6-run seventh inning and the Cubs rallied to beat the Giants 11-8.
Considering the result, maybe the Cubs should invite Carlos Zambrano to sing the seventh inning stretch more often. His singing seemed to override Kapler's message to the Giants.
"I did not know (about Kapler's comments), to be honest, but they were definitely more aggressive for sure," Hendricks said. "The last few teams I've been facing, they've been very aggressive overall against me. Same thing tonight, made the adjustment. We knew where to go. I had some mis-executions tonight. Over the plate too much, too many barrels."
With the Cubs trailing 6-4 in the seventh, Suzuki tied the game by sending a Tyler Rogers 72-mile-per-hour slider over the left-field wall on a 3-1 pitch. The Cubs saw a variety of pitchers in this game and Rogers uses an underhand delivery.
"I think that's the great thing about our lineup, it's really versatile," Cubs manager David Ross said. "Seiya, that drop down guy, that's tough to get in the air. That was a really nice swing, obviously. They threw a bunch of different looks at us, but our guys went in with real good plans."
After Suzuki's home run, the Cubs got some help. Former Cub Joc Pederson lost Jeimer Candelario's fly ball in left field and it fell for a double. Yan Gomes followed with an infield single up the middle.
With runners on first and third, Nick Madrigal sent a high-hop grounder to third base. Casey Schmitt's throw home was low and bounced through the legs of catcher Patrick Bailey as Candelario scored.
Christopher Morel followed with a dramatic 3-run homer to center field to make it 10-6. Rather than his usual exuberance, Morel stood and watched this home run sail, then tossed his bat about 20 yards toward the Cubs dugout.
"I feel like my at-bat after a home run like that is kind of funky sometimes," joked Nico Hoerner, who was up next. "It feels kind of insignificant."
Suzuki drove in another run with a single in the eighth to complete the Cubs' scoring. He went 4-for-5 with 3 RBI to continue a hot stretch. Gomes went 3-for-4, while Hoerner and Dansby Swanson collected 2 hits each.
When the Giants took a 3-0 lead, the Cubs answered with 4 runs in the third. Swanson delivered an RBI single, Candelario drew a bases-loaded walk, then Gomes ripped a 2-run double.
Hendricks has had a tendency to settle down in the middle innings, but the Cubs offense also settled down. Their 1-run lead disappeared in the sixth when Wilmer Flores and Pederson greeted Hendricks with back-to-back doubles. Hayden Wesneski was summoned from the bullpen and J.D. Davis greeted him with a 2-run homer.
Hendricks was on a streak of five straight starts allowing 3 earned runs or fewer. On Tuesday, he was tagged for 4 earned runs in 5⅓ innings, with 7 hits and 5 strikeouts.
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