CHICAGO -- As the Cubs have worked to get their offense back on track over the past month, the team’s rotation has done its part in holding the line. The starting staff has done so while also awaiting the return of veteran right-hander Jameson Taillon.
On Tuesday night, Taillon was activated from the injured list and rejoined the group with a quality start, helping guide the Cubs to a 4-1 win over the Brewers that sealed a sweep of the day’s doubleheader at Wrigley Field. His six-inning performance helped lower Chicago’s rotation ERA to a Major League-leading 3.10 since the All-Star break.
“My job is to come in and not mess that up, I guess,” Taillon said with a laugh. “They’ve been awesome.”
The timing of Taillon’s return also positioned the Cubs to trim their deficit in the National League Central to seven games behind the first-place Brewers. There is still a ways to go for Chicago, but the goal of trying to chase down a division title -- while daunting in light of Milwaukee’s play over the past two months -- remains on the table.
With the win, the Cubs took a 6-5 lead in the season series with the Brewers with two games remaining between the clubs this week. One more win over Milwaukee would give the North Siders the first tiebreaker over the Brewers in the event of a division deadlock. The Cubs currently hold the NL’s top Wild Card spot and Fangraphs gives them a 98.4 percent odds to punch their ticket to the playoffs.
So, even as the Cubs have gone 9-9 in August, the team sits in a solid position.
“Baseball is a sport where you can trick yourself into saying, ‘Things are going bad,’ and they’re not,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “And I think this team understands that. This is a good baseball team that’s earned a very good position and future and excitement for the last seven weeks of the season. And we’re looking forward to that.
“That means there’s challenges, man. Bring them on. The regular season is tough, man. Let’s go, man. Let’s bring it on. We’re not scared of these challenges and the guys in there aren’t scared of these challenges.”
Taillon, who sustained a right calf strain a few days after his last appearance for the Cubs on June 29, limited the Brewers to one run. With two outs in the first inning, the big righty put two runners aboard before yielding an RBI single to Andrew Vaughn. Taillon sidestepped trouble from there, ending with four strikeouts in the 92-pitch effort.
“First start back. That’s difficult,” Counsell said. “Second game of a doubleheader -- we need innings. That’s difficult. So to get a six-inning, one-run performance from Jamo tonight, you couldn’t ask for more. And I know he feels good. He was a big part of this win.”
Owen Caissie followed his three-RBI showing in Game 1’s 6-4 win with a run-scoring single off Brandon Woodruff in the second inning in the nightcap. Michael Busch (RBI double) and Nico Hoerner (RBI single) also helped the Cubs’ cause.
In the seventh, the Brewers threatened by putting two runners on with one out against Cubs lefty Taylor Rogers. Sal Frelick then sent a pitch to right field for what looked like a sacrifice fly in the making. Instead, Cubs right fielder Willi Castro made the catch and uncorked a perfect throw to the plate, cutting down Brice Turang for an emphatic inning-ending double play.
“The throw Willi made was incredible,” Counsell said. “Sometimes you marvel at big leaguers, man. They’re, whatever, 260 feet away and they put a ball just right on the money with a throw. When he let it go, it was like, ‘He’s out.’ It was one of those throws.”
Taillon was going through his post-start routine in the training room when he saw the play on the broadcast.
“We were screaming like little kids,” Taillon said of Castro’s outfield assist. “That was a big play. And plays like that, at Wrigley especially, build the momentum and you can really feel it kind of flip the game a little bit.”
The Cubs are hoping the doubleheader sweep is the kind of development that can offer momentum for the playoff push ahead.
“I feel like every win for us matters at this point, division aside,” Taillon said. “I don’t want to concern ourselves too much with chasing [the Brewers] all the time. They’re playing great baseball. They’ve been on, like, a generational run right now.
“But to win two games in one day against a team that’s that good, against some good arms, that’s big. And hopefully, it’s something we can build off.”