Easy queasy: Cubs ride a wild wind to comeback victory at Wrigley Field
Dave Kingman has kept a low profile in recent years, but he should have been at Wrigley Field for this one.
Actually, compared to the Kingman-Mike Schmidt 23-22 slugfest of 1979, this game was a little tame. But it did set a Wrigley record for most runs in a single inning.
The Cubs led Arizona 2-1 when Friday's game reached the seventh-inning stretch. By the time Ryan Pressly pitched a miraculously scoreless ninth, the Cubs won 13-11.
“It was crazy,” manager Craig Counsell said. “We gave up 10 runs in an inning and won. There's 27 outs in a game and this kind of proves it.”
Here's the quick recap on how the score soared: Ian Happ's grand slam in the seventh pushed the Cubs to a 7-1 lead. The Diamondbacks responded with 10 runs in the top of the eighth. Then the bottom of that inning featured three more Cubs home runs — Carson Kelly's second of the day, a 2-run go-ahead rocket by Kyle Tucker and a solo lead-padder from Seiya Suzuki.
According to Cubs PR, the 16 runs in the eighth inning topped the previous record of 15 by the Cubs and Phillies in 1922. The highest-scoring inning of the '79 game was 13 in the first.
Not that anyone's wondering, but yes, the wind was blowing out.
“I can't imagine there's any other team that's coming to their home park checking the flags on the way in,” Happ said. “Checking Lake Shore Drive on the way up, seeing if the waves are crashing or it's calm.”
During the opening homestand of the season, the temperature was freezing and the wind blowing in every day. Friday it was 74 degrees at game time and the flags were pointed straight to the corner of Waveland and Sheffield.
“I don't know how much the weather had an impact on the home runs,” Counsell said. “But the weather affects the games here more than any other stadium.”
For the second time this season, Arizona piled up a monstrous eighth inning against the Cubs' bullpen. On March 30 in Phoenix, the Cubs led the finale of a four-game series 6-2 heading to the bottom of the eighth and the Diamondbacks scored 8 runs.
Most people in the crowd probably felt the game was over after Happ's grand slam in the seventh, followed by a Tucker triple and an extra run to make it 7-1. Counsell felt good enough to have Porter Hodge take a seat in the bullpen and bring in Jordan Wicks, who was called up from Triple-A before the game.
Wicks gave up three straight singles, so Hodge got warm again and allowed a grand slam to Eugenio Suarez. A defensive misplay at third base put Arizona ahead, then Lourdes Gurriel blasted a 3-run homer off Ethan Roberts and suddenly it was 11-7. The crowd let the Cubs have it when the inning was finally over.
“A day like that at Wrigley, you know there's going to be runs scored,” Happ said. “Keeping a team to one run in that environment is really tough. You knew it wasn't over.”
The Cubs' half of the eighth started with a hit batter and a walk, setting up Kelly's second home run of the day to make it a 1-run game. Kelly, who spent five seasons with Arizona, is hitting .419 on the season and is top 10 in MLB with both 6 home runs and 18 RBI.
“What's really been working is just staying pitch to pitch,” Kelly said. “Win every single pitch and stay locked in, no matter what the score is or the situation.”
Happ's single set the stage for Tucker sending Joe Mantiply's first pitch over the right-field basket to put the Cubs ahead. Suzuki followed with the hardest-hit home run of the day, which traveled 440 feet to center.
“It was a little bit wild there at the end,” Tucker said. “I think we've got a really special thing here this year. Hopefully we can keep these good wins going.”
By the time it was over, Cubs starter Colin Rea seemed like a superhero for allowing just 1 run and 0 homers in just under 5 innings.
“I just felt like (Kelly) was money back there today, I really did,” Rea said. “Really meshing well right now.”
As long as he doesn't put any of that money on which way the wind blows Saturday.