Seiya Suzuki gave the Cubs a jolt, but everything around that swing went sideways.
Chicago opened Wednesday night with a 1-0 lead on Suzuki’s solo homer in the first inning, then spent the rest of the game chasing the Detroit Tigers and striking out far too often in a 5-1 loss at Wrigley Field. The defeat handed Detroit the series after the Tigers took both the opener and the finale, and it came with another blow in the NL Central race: the Milwaukee Brewers also won, leaving the Cubs 7 games back in first place.
Suzuki was the lone bright spot in an otherwise flat night at the plate. He entered the game in the middle of a scorching July, carrying a .976 OPS this month with 4 home runs and 13 RBI in 15 games.
His season OPS had dipped to .799 on June 30, but it has stayed above .800 since July began, and the homer pushed it to .836. The blast itself was a no-doubter, leaving the bat at 109.2 mph and traveling 397 feet to left-center for Suzuki’s 17th home run of the season.
After that, the Cubs’ offense vanished. Chicago managed only four hits, and the strikeouts piled up as Detroit’s pitching staff struck out 12 Cubs batters.
Suzuki struck out twice, while Alex Bregman and Pete Crow-Armstrong also went hitless. Michael Conforto, starting at DH, struck out in all three of his at-bats.
Carson Kelly and Dansby Swanson were also blanked at the bottom of the order.
The Cubs had one real opening after that first inning. In the sixth, Crow-Armstrong reached on an error to start the frame, but Suzuki struck out on a slider and Michael Busch followed by grounding into an inning-ending double play. Chicago never threatened again.
Colin Rea took the loss after allowing 4 earned runs on 6 hits. All four runs came on two home runs.
Spencer Torkelson tied the game in the second with a solo shot, turning on a 1-2 slider and driving it into the left-field bleachers. The bigger swing came in the fourth, when Hao-Yu Lee launched a three-run homer after Rea missed badly on three straight pitches and then left a 3-0 fastball over the middle.
Rea has now allowed a home run in each of his last four starts, and his two long balls Wednesday brought his season total to 17. That leaves him tied for 18th in home runs allowed this year.
The Cubs’ starting staff as a whole has been vulnerable in that department too, sitting second in the league with 94 home runs allowed. Jameson Taillon and Shota Imanaga are tied for the club lead with 22 homers allowed apiece, which also ranks tied for third most in the league.
Rea’s outing wasn’t spotless, but the bigger issue was the lack of support behind him. The Cubs put only two runners in scoring position all night, and that was never going to be enough.
Chicago is off Thursday before starting a six-game road trip Friday in Pittsburgh. Matthew Boyd and Jared Jones are scheduled to open the series, with Shota Imanaga facing Paul Skenes on Saturday and Jameson Taillon matched up with Braxton Ashcraft on Sunday.
The Pirates enter the weekend at 53-50, tied with the Cardinals for third place in the NL Central, and the Cubs can’t afford to keep slipping against division opponents. A sweep would go a long way, and there will be plenty to watch in Pittsburgh with Paul Skenes on the mound, Ian Happ returning to Pittsburgh, and Suzuki carrying a hot bat.
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