Cubs manager David Ross moving forward after sweep in Arizona
Sweet home, Chicago!
Well, at least that’s what the Cubs and manager David Ross hope for when they resume play at the friendly confines of Wrigley Field this week. They would just as soon forget they had a road trip because the end result was disastrous.
The Cubs lost five of six to the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks, including the final games. The Cubs were swept away by the Diamondbacks in Phoenix, the final game a 6-2 loss Sunday as they got two early runs, then went silent at the plate for the final six innings, squeezing out three hits.
When asked of his current situation, David Ross put it in plain terms for everyone to understand.
“We weren’t very good,” he said. “They were better than we were (in) all aspects of the game. They played better defense, pitched better, timed their hitting and ran the bases better. Just got beat all the way around. Bad road trip — trying to wash everything off with the off-day tomorrow and get back at it on Tuesday.”
This will give the Cubs a chance to regroup, look forward to final two home series of the year and fatten up on wins against two teams that have stumbled upon themselves this year, the Pittsburgh Pirates (70-80) Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, then the Rockies (56-93) next weekend.
As for Sunday, the Diamondbacks, who overtook the Cubs to claim the second wild card spot by half a game as the Cubs hang on for dear life along with the Miami Marlins for the third and final wild card, scored three first-inning runs. Christian Walker had a forceout for one run, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. delivered an RBI double and Emmanuel Rivera added a sacrifice fly.
“They were better than we were (in) all aspects of the game. They played better defense, pitched better, timed their hitting and ran the bases better. Just got beat all the way around. Bad road trip — trying to wash everything off with the off-day tomorrow and get back at it on Tuesday.” — David Ross, Cubs manager
The Cubs cut the lead to two runs in the second on a Mike Tauchman single that plated Dansby Swanson and made it 3-2 in the third when Cody Bellinger grounded into a double play to plate Ian Happ, who had three hits on the day.
That, though, would be all the struggling Cubs would get for the rest of the day. Arizona’s Ketel Marte hit his 23rd home run off reliever Jose Cuas, a two-run shot in the sixth and the well-traveled Jace Peterson doubled home Alek Thomas in the seventh to put the game away.
Losing hurler Jordan Wicks struck out five batters in his 4 1/3 innings, but couldn’t contain the Diamondbacks’ lineup when bats met ball.
No starter has been listed for Tuesday’s opener with the Pirates as David Ross’ team looks to end the losing streak.
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