Ross enjoying NL playoff scramble; Merryweather shines
DETROIT - Cubs manager David Ross confirmed he's caught up in following the competitive NL playoff race. By the end of Wednesday's game, six teams were within 4½ games of each other for the three wild card spots.
"It's funny, all candidness, I can't wait to get to my phone when we win and I don't want to check when we lose," Ross said. "Just being honest, that's the fan in me and the competitor in me.
"We've got a little over a month left of the season, we get to play a lot of those teams that are around us and ahead of us. This is what you sign up for. This is what I signed up for."
The next two weeks should be eventful when the Cubs host NL Central leader Milwaukee for three games, go to Cincinnati for a four-game series, then host wild-card contenders San Francisco and Arizona.
Merrier weather:
After getting two days of rest, Cubs reliever Julian Merryweather might have delivered his best outing of the year Wednesday. He faced four batters - got a bouncer to the pitcher to end the seventh inning, then struck out the heart of the Tigers order on 13 pitches in the eighth.
Merryweather threw five four-seam fastballs, all at 99 miles per hour or greater, while the Tigers managed just one foul ball in the eighth.
"He looked fresh, was throwing 100 right on the edges," starting pitcher Jameson Taillon said. "I think he had a career-high in appearances, so it's just impressive he's still throwing 100 and doing his thing at this point in the year."
Career-high is an understatement. Merryweather had 47 career appearances in the majors before this season and made his 55th trip to the mound for the Cubs in Detroit.
Around the horn:
Javy Baez was not in the Tigers' starting lineup for the second-straight day. ... Christopher Morel was 0-for-15 at the plate since his walk-off home run against the White Sox, until getting a pinch-hit single in the ninth inning of Wednesday's game. ... Reliever Michael Rucker made his first appearance Wednesday since being recalled from Iowa on Aug. 15. Manager David Ross said the plan is to use Rucker in longer relief situations, though he worked just one inning in this game. ... Pitcher Jordan Wicks was scratched from his scheduled start for the Iowa Cubs on Wednesday. It was not injury-related, according to the Des Moines Register, but there was no news on any roster move.
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