SAN DIEGO -- Nico Hoerner played the role of hero on Tuesday night, pounding his chest after pulling off a go-ahead triple in the 10th inning against the Padres at Petco Park. It was a breakthrough that halted San Diego’s undefeated run at home and pushed the Cubs back into the win column.
While Hoerner’s celebration was the perfect image for the photographers in the nearby camera well, the Cubs second baseman felt the win’s driving force could be found elsewhere.
The 2-1 win in 10 innings would not have happened without the five strong innings from a Chicago bullpen that has experienced a rollercoaster month.
"That was the real story of the game,” Hoerner said. “Even in a game where we left some outs on the field, to still only give up one run to a really strong offense like that and have so many guys contribute, that was just a huge, huge performance by so many people.”
For a bullpen, it was the kind of collective showing that can help a group mentally turn the page after a rough stretch. For the Cubs’ relief corps, specifically, the last 24 hours included a tough loss, an injury and roster moves (including optioning top prospect Matt Shaw to Triple-A).
In Monday’s 10-4 loss, the bullpen was on the hook for eight runs, including four charged to Eli Morgan, who exited with a right elbow injury and landed on the 15-day injured list Tuesday due to an impingement. Morgan will be undergoing further testing in the coming days to further evaluate the setback and map out his next steps.
Prior to Tuesday’s game, the Cubs also optioned right-hander Nate Pearson -- acquired from the Blue Jays last season -- to Triple-A Iowa. Pearson and Morgan had combined to allow 20 earned runs in 16 innings, doing damage to Chicago’s bullpen ERA (4.85). Chicago recalled righty Daniel Palencia and lefty Luke Little from Iowa to take their spots in the bullpen.
"We have a number of guys who have thrown the ball well,” Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said. “But we have some guys that have struggled. Nate and Eli will be the first ones to say they’ve been struggling. … There’s going to be some shuffle that happens in our bullpen.
"Getting to that place where you have all the guys throwing well is hard. We’ll keep on working through it until we do.”
The Cubs’ bullpen collectively has turned in an 18.4% strikeout rate (third lowest in the Majors) with an 11.7% walk rate (tied for the sixth highest), while ranking 25th in ERA and 27th in strikeout-minus-walk rate (6.8%).
In Tuesday’s victory, the group combined to allow just one hit in five scoreless innings, ending with four strikeouts, one intentional walk and six outs via grounders. That came after lefty Shota Imanaga limited the Padres to one run over his five frames -- the lone setback being a fifth-inning homer by Manny Machado after two missed-catch errors on foul balls within the nine-pitch at-bat.
"They were great [out of the bullpen] tonight,” Imanaga said via his interpreter Edwin Stanberry. “Especially towards the end of the game, with the environment of the ballpark, the Padres fans hoping for that comeback win. Just emotionally, just physically, I think the staff did an amazing job tonight."
Palencia arrived from Triple-A and quieted San Diego in the sixth. Julian Merryweather and Porter Hodge did their part across the seventh and eighth, respectively. Veteran Ryan Pressly -- looking more like himself of late -- handled the ninth with no troubles.
"Everybody we put in there did a heck of a job,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said.
That set things up for lefty Caleb Thielbar, who took over with a 2-1 lead and the automatic runner (Jose Iglesias) on second to begin the 10th. Thielbar struck out Connor Joe and induced a groundout from Elias Díaz (both pinch-hitters) and then opted to put Fernando Tatis Jr. on first after falling behind, 2-0.
Iglesias stole third base, but that was as far as he got, as Luis Arraez flied out to left field to end the game, giving Thielbar a save.
"It was awesome,” Thielbar said. “The guys that have been doing it all year did it again. Danny [Palencia] came up and had a huge inning for us. That was awesome to see. It was really fun to be a part of.”