Bullpen falters as Cubs drop 2 of 3 in Texas

ARLINGTON -- Given the way Sunday went for the Cubs, it seemed fitting that the final pitch of their game in Texas was one that dove to the dirt and skipped away. The series finale at Globe Life Park was high-scoring, wild and marred by the bullpen questions that have persisted since the early offseason.

So when Cubs reliever Pedro Strop fired an errant two-seamer in the bottom of the ninth, allowing Joey Gallo to hustle home from third for the decisive run in an 11-10 walk-off loss, the focus remained on Chicago's relief corps. The lineup did everything it could to make up for the pitching deficiencies -- not just on Sunday, but in the entire series -- but the arms could not hold up their end of the bargain.

It’s only three games, sure, but the Cubs have known for months that their bullpen had flaws. Hours before Sunday's loss, Cubs manager Joe Maddon said it will probably take the season's first month to really get a firm grip on the best way to utilize the relief pitchers he has.

"I've always believed it takes about a month," Maddon explained. "It's about a month break-in period before you really understand how to use your guys out there."

Maddon should have an even better grasp by the end of April, which is when closer Brandon Morrow is scheduled to return from a right elbow injury. Without any major additions to the relief corps this winter -- the team made it clear that the budget did not have room for free agent Craig Kimbrel or any other big-ticket arm -- Maddon is forced to mix and match in the meantime.

The idea is that some pitchers will emerge as trustworthy, while others might show they require a shorter leash. That approach started to play out over the first three games in Texas.

Thursday's opener was relatively drama-free due to a dozen runs churned out by Chicago, but lefty Mike Montgomery did surrender a two-run homer in the ninth that night. In Saturday's 8-6 loss, Carl Edwards Jr. debuted his new hesitation-move delivery in the eighth and had disastrous results, including a game-changing three-run homer by Gallo.

Sunday's game featured another double-digit outburst by the offense, which hit two home runs (Kyle Schwarber and Anthony Rizzo) amid seven multihit performances and rally after rally after rally. Tyler Chatwood and Montgomery were on the hook for five runs between the sixth and seventh, flipping the Cubs’ 8-5 lead to a 10-8 deficit. Montgomery inherited two of Chatwood's runners in the seventh and promptly yielded a two-run triple to Nomar Mazara and a two-run homer to Asdrubal Cabrera.

"It's frustrating. These guys swung it unbelievably the first three games," Montgomery said. "We know what our offense is capable of, so we want to do our part. The last two nights, we [didn't]. But it's OK. You can't hang your head. We'll just kind of keep moving forward. I think just sticking with that mindset is what we've got to do."

Excluding starter José Quintana, who logged four innings of emergency relief on Saturday, Chicago's relievers have combined to allow 11 runs on 10 hits with eight strikeouts and five walks in 7 2/3 innings. It is worth noting that there were some good showings (Steve Cishek, Brandon Kintzler, Brad Brach and Randy Rosario have 4 2/3 shutout innings combined) sprinkled throughout the series, too.

While the Cubs await Morrow's return, and without any relief reinforcements expected from outside the organization, Maddon will keep searching for the right combinations. Good or bad, it is far too early to draw any sweeping conclusions, but the reality remains that there were concerns about Chicago's bullpen even before the team threw its first pitch of the season.

"Let things kind of continue to evolve," Cubs pitching coach Tommy Hottovy said. "We're confident in all the guys we have out there. We're going to keep putting them in situations that we feel like they’re going to be successful, and we're going to need them to step up the whole season."