PITTSBURGH — The Chicago Cubs have finally gotten that elusive sweep. It took some work and came in unexpected fashion, but manager Craig Counsell can finally stop answering questions about his team’s inability to finish off the opposition. On Wednesday afternoon, the Cubs swept the Pittsburgh Pirates on the road, finishing off the three-game set with a wild 14-10 victory in comeback fashion.
“It was a lot of fun,” Counsell said. “Just a heck of a job by everybody. Staying in the fight, not giving in. We just had great at-bats.”
The Cubs trailed 10-3 after six innings but scored 11 runs in the final three frames to pull off an incredible victory. The hero of the game, Christian Bethancourt, was just as unlikely a force as the comeback itself. The Cubs backup catcher has been performing brilliantly since coming up from the minors after Tomás Nido went on the injured list on July 26.
Bethancourt had three hits and seven RBIs, with six in the final three innings. None were bigger than his final two when he delivered a bases-loaded single with two outs in the ninth to give the Cubs an 11-10 lead.
FIRE US UP, CHRISTIAN BETHANCOURT 🔥 🔥 🔥 pic.twitter.com/BoS8lVSGQX
— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) August 28, 2024
“I don’t know how you can play better than he’s played,” Counsell said. “He’s been sparingly (getting) at-bats and every time he’s in there there’s extra-base hits, there’s RBIs, there’s throwing out runners. He’s been unbelievable. How could you play better than he’s played since he’s been here?”
Bethancourt made his eighth start with the Cubs since being called up in late July. During that stretch, he’s made 29 plate appearances and come away with 11 hits, seven for extra bases. He’s slashing .407/.448/.889 with 15 RBIs.
“You get RBIs, we score runs,” Bethancourt said. “We win games by scoring runs. That’s a big part of the game. When you can get as many as I did today, that’s an unbelievable day. That’s probably a day I will not forget.”
Bethancourt ripped a two-run homer in the seventh to cut the deficit to five runs. In the eighth, he pulled a double down the left-field line to drive in two more. He’d had an RBI groundout earlier in the game and in the ninth delivered the clutch hit the Cubs needed. It seemed like shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa may have a chance at knocking down that single, but the ball came off the bat at 105.9 mph (the second-highest exit velocity of the day for Bethancourt; his homer was 106.1) and it went into the outfield to drive in two.
“He’d been hitting the ball really hard all day but for the last few weeks (too),” said Ian Happ, who had three hits on the day and six for the series. “He hit that really hard and it gets through. Just a really awesome sequence of events. For him to do that (while working) behind the plate on a day like that — it was super hot and humid — to stay in it for that long is super impressive.”
Bethancourt started the season with the Miami Marlins and was eventually designated for assignment after putting up a .466 OPS. But he’s looked like a completely different player with the Cubs. Paired with Miguel Amaya, offensively the duo has been the most productive catching group in baseball over the last month, a dramatic change from when the Cubs had some of the worst production from that position the first few months of the season.
“Obviously numbers are great,” Bethancourt said. “But I think winning ball games is what matters. Despite the struggle I had earlier this year and at Triple-A, I came here wanting to play, showing that I can still play in the big leagues and try not to do too much. That’s how I’ve been taking it.”
Today, Bethancourt recorded his first-career 7-RBI game, making him the sixth catcher in #Cubs history (since 1901) to knock in seven or more in one game 🔥 pic.twitter.com/Sr6HJmCYkd
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) August 28, 2024
The Cubs have been doing a lot of winning since Bethancourt arrived. On the day he was activated, the Cubs fell to seven games under .500. Since then, they’ve gone 19-10 and are trying to find a way to get back into the wild-card race.
With a pair of blowouts in the first two games, the Cubs were able to rest their best relievers for much of the Pirates series. But Counsell was forced to lean on his bullpen Wednesday after Kyle Hendricks exited after just 1 2/3 innings. Drew Smyly, who cleared waivers and will remain with the team, had to pitch two innings. So did Porter Hodge, who threw 36 pitches after throwing five on Tuesday.
The bullpen was extra short with Jorge López down after he pulled his groin Monday night. Whether he’ll need an IL stint will be decided at some point this weekend when the Cubs head to Washington, D.C., for three games against the Nationals.
Perhaps the most impressive thing about this series sweep was doing so against the pitchers they faced. In game one, Mitch Keller, who has dominated the Cubs for much of his career, was knocked out after four innings. The Cubs did the same to Jared Jones on Tuesday and are one of only two teams to score three runs off Paul Skenes, who lasted only five innings, and the Cubs have done so twice.
To be able to score 41 runs in a three-game series is impressive on its own. But how impressive is it when a team does it against three very good starters?
“Very,” Bethancourt said. “Lately we’ve been scoring a lot of runs. We hope we can continue that and take it to D.C. and then to the homestand.”
That will be the key. The Cubs can’t let this momentum slow. After digging themselves a hole with poor play in May and June, they have a lot of ground to make up. Before Wednesday’s night games, they remained five games out of a playoff spot.
“We’re playing really good baseball,” Happ said. “The offense is doing its job. We’ve really strung together some good offensive performances. If we continue to do that, I think — I’ve been saying this for a couple weeks now — it’s game-by-game and series-by-series. Win a couple series in a row, the sweep there is nice and go to Washington and see if we can win another series and head back home. Good start to the road trip, but it’s not over.”
(Photo of Ian Happ and Luis Vazquez: Charles LeClaire / USA Today)
