The Chicago Cubs had a chance to salvage Thursday’s series finale against the Baltimore Orioles, but the ninth inning ended with Nico Hoerner at the center of a brutal call and the Cubs walking away empty-handed.
Hoerner opened the top of the ninth by reaching on a Gunnar Henderson error at shortstop. With Chicago trailing 3-2 and nobody out, Hoerner tried to steal second and beat Samuel Basallo’s throw easily.
The problem came after he arrived: Hoerner came off the bag, Henderson kept the tag on him, and the second-base umpire ruled him out. The Cubs challenged, but the call stood after review from New York.
Hoerner did not hide how he felt. The usually composed Cubs infielder erupted at the second-base umpire, convinced Henderson had pushed him off the base.
The play was close, and while Hoerner’s momentum clearly carried him off the bag, Henderson appeared to do more than just apply a tag. On the obstruction question, the source material notes that Henderson was not blocking the bag with his foot before the throw pulled him toward Hoerner’s slide.
That call mattered because the Cubs had some life left in the inning. Ian Happ, batting after Hoerner was caught stealing, reached on an infield single.
Chicago also squared up right-handed reliever Andrew Kittredge well, with three balls leaving the bat at 100 mph or harder. If Hoerner is ruled safe, the inning could have unfolded very differently.
Instead, the Cubs were left to absorb another loss that followed a familiar script. They took a 2-1 lead into the bottom of the eighth, only to see the bullpen hand it away.
Tyler Ferguson, who had been solid over his first eight innings with the Cubs, got the first out he faced in the inning and then lost the strike zone, hitting back-to-back batters. Craig Counsell then turned to left-hander Ryan Rolison to face Jeremiah Jackson, and Jackson delivered the go-ahead two-run double for Baltimore.
Rolison, who had been strong for most of his time with the Cubs this season, has hit a rough patch lately. He has allowed runs in three of his last five appearances and was charged with the blown save on Thursday.
For now, the Cubs are stuck trying to patch together innings with a bullpen that simply does not inspire much confidence. The source material puts it bluntly: it’s Jacob Webb and hope for a miracle at this point because no one else can truly be trusted right now.
The expectation is that the front office will eventually add help, with trades coming to bolster the relief corps by the end of July or early August. Until then, the Cubs are hoping the All-Star break gives this group enough of a reset to survive until reinforcements arrive at the trade deadline.
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