Jacob Webb’s latest outing left the Chicago Cubs with the same ugly question they’ve been facing far too often lately: who, exactly, can they trust out of the bullpen?
On Tuesday, Craig Counsell turned to Webb in the seventh inning with the Cubs up 3-2 on the Atlanta Braves. The lead disappeared fast. Ozzie Albies, a familiar tormentor at Wrigley Field, jumped on a floating change-up and sent it out, flipping the game and handing Chicago a one-run deficit after Webb allowed his fourth homer in his last eight relief appearances.
That’s a brutal turn for a pitcher who was, not long ago, the Cubs’ most dependable reliever. Webb had gone two months without allowing a run, and just three weeks ago he was the best arm in the bullpen. Now the damage has piled up so quickly that the Cubs can’t afford to use him in any high-leverage spot for the rest of the year.
The slide hasn’t come out of nowhere. Webb’s last clean inning came on Aug. 7 against the Kansas City Royals, and since then the results have unraveled in a hurry. Earlier this season, he also set an MLB record by blowing three straight saves with two outs in the ninth inning.
The Cubs’ problems went beyond Webb on Tuesday. They took a 3-0 lead into the sixth inning, but the Braves’ bullpen shut them down from there. Then Edward Cabrera gave up a two-run homer to Drake Baldwin in the ninth.
The larger picture is just as rough. Chicago’s pitching staff has now allowed 227 home runs this season, the most of any team in MLB.
And while it’s clear Counsell can’t keep leaning on Webb with a lead, that’s only part of the problem. The Cubs simply don’t have many bullpen arms they can trust right now, which makes every late-inning decision feel like a gamble.
Tuesday was the 11th time since Aug. 21 that the Cubs held a lead in a game and lost it. Some of those losses have come with the starters involved, but Webb has been the main bullpen culprit, giving away wins over the past month.
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