Column: Like the Wrigley Field ivy, Chicago Cubs star Nico Hoerner continues to blossom
The easiest way for the Chicago Cubs to get through what could be a long stretch without closer Daniel Palencia is to put up enough runs to make the role irrelevant. That’s what they did Friday in a 12-4 rout of the New York Mets on a sun-kissed afternoon at Wrigley Field, a day that began with the troubling news of Palencia’s left oblique strain . For the third time in three games, the Cubs scored in double-digits, moving over the .
500 mark and seemingly ending fan angst over their early-season offensive struggles. “It was just a matter of time,” Ian Happ said, adding, “We weren’t going to score no runs for the entire year. ” The Cubs were fortunate to have the bumbling Mets in town at the right time, and cruised to their third straight win behind home runs from Moisés Ballesteros, Nico Hoerner and Happ.
Edward Cabrera pitched six innings for the win, keeping the depleted bullpen from being overtaxed. Palencia’s oblique strain was the latest in a series of pitching injuries the Cubs have had to deal with, and was especially concerning considering the shaky state of the bullpen with the losses of high-leverage options Hunter Harvey and Phil Maton. Obliques typically take longer than two weeks to heal, but neither Counsell nor Palencia appeared too grim over the news.
Counsell said he wasn’t sure of how he’d handle the bullpen in Palencia’s absence, but counting on his starters to last longer is not in his plans. “I think that’s a mistake to do that,” the manager said, suggesting he might let starters face an extra hitter, perhaps. “We’ve got to keep those guys healthy as well, and at the end of a starter’s outing they’re fatigued, and we’ve got to make sure we do the right thing by then.
” Cabrera wasn’t particularly sharp on Friday, but made pitches when he had to while pitching with a lead. Ballesteros’s three-run, opposite-field home run off Kodai Senga capped a four-run first inning, and after the Mets crept to within one, Hoerner’s two-run shot in the second made it 6-3. The Cubs kept adding on and Cabrera survived being hit by a hot drive up the middle in the fifth to improve to 2-0.
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