Last Night in Baseball: The Cubs Were Swept And Have Lost 8 In A Row

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Cubs Swept, Have Lost 8 Straight

On May 16, the Cubs defeated the White Sox 10-5 in their Rivalry Weekend opener. This win put Chicago at 29-16, up 2.5 games on both the Brewers and Cardinals in the NL Central, and with a +48 run differential that had them fourth in the NL. Things have gone downhill from there for the Cubs. Chicago would lose the next two games and the themed weekend to the White Sox, then the Brewers swept their division rivals at Wrigley, all leading to a series against the Astros. Who, despite their own stumbling around in 2026, just swept the Cubs as well.

They were all close defeats against Houston, but defeats nonetheless. A 4-2 loss on Friday, then Chicago was shut out, 3-0, on Saturday. The offense woke back up on Sunday in the series’ finale, with the Cubs stringing together hits and walks in the bottom of the second to go up 3-1, and another two runs would be added later. The problem is that this was the game where Chicago’s pitching faltered. 

In the top of the fifth, the Astros opened with a double off of starter Shota Imanaga, off the bat of right fielder Cam Smith, and then loaded the bases. While the Cubs would log the second out of the inning before any actual damage was done, they didn’t get the third nearly fast enough. Shortstop Jeremy Peña singled in a pair to give Houston a lead…

…then first baseman Christian Walker sent the rest of them home with a three-run homer. That was Walker’s 14th blast of the year, and the Astros were, all of a sudden, up 7-3 thanks to a five-run fifth.

Chicago would score two more, as said, but the Astros also added another: Imanaga might have been sold enough prior to the five-run outburst, but he allowed three long balls on the day and seven runs from them. When those are solo shots, it’s one thing, but Walker’s homer put the game out of reach.

The sweep has the Astros 4.5 back in the American League West, still possessing a number of problems but in the correct division to have them. The Cubs, meanwhile, are now 2.5 back instead of ahead in the NL Central, their record dropped to a far less impressive 29-24, and their run differential similarly whittled down in a way that suggests their record now reflects their play to this point. It’s far too early for panic, but in a division where every team has a winning record, rattling off eight-straight defeats is the kind of thing that can come back to haunt months from now.

The Mets Lost On A Walk-Off Grand Slam

Speaking of haunting. The Mets sat half-a-game ahead of the Marlins in the NL East entering the series between the two this weekend, that extra game played to this point the only thing keeping New York out of the cellar. This was a chance to inch closer to .500, to close the gaps between the Mets and the teams in front of them in the division, but instead, it was the Marlins taking advantage. Miami won the first two games of the series, 2-1 and 4-1, wasting quality pitching from New York by doing an even better job of things, and then took the finale in dramatic fashion.

Both teams had held the other scoreless through eight innings, and reliever Pete Fairbanks kept that going in the top of the ninth by allowing a pair of baserunners but stranding them, just as Miami had stranded the eight before them. New York was not so lucky. Devin Williams relieved Luke Weaver in the bottom of the inning, and things immediately unraveled.

Williams allowed a leadoff double to designated hitter Christopher Morel, who was replaced by pinch-runner Esteury Ruiz; he was immediately bunted 90 feet closer to home by third baseman Javier Sanoja. Catcher Liam Hicks walked on six pitches, with Williams trying carefully to avoid leaving anything up over the plate, and then second baseman Xavier Edwards was intentionally walked to create a force at every base.

This brought up Heriberto Hernández, who had entered the game as a pinch-hitter earlier and then stuck in left field. The result? His second home run of the year — a game-winning grand slam.

In that one swing, more runs were driven in than the Mets managed the entire weekend. Miami outscored New York, 10-3, over those three games, and now they sit 2.5 games up, in fourth place in the East, while the Mets dwell alone in the basement. Sitting seven games back of the last wild card is not insurmountable on Memorial Day, but that’s the glass half-full view. The half-empty one notes that the Mets are already seven back of the final wild-card spot in the NL on Memorial Day, in a much different and less optimistic tone of voice. There’s a lot of Mets’ season left this summer, which is either a reason to hope or a not-so-veiled threat, depending.

Judge Delivers Verdict

The Mets were not the only New York team to enter the ninth in a scoreless tie on Sunday. The Yankees found themselves in the same position against the Rays, except strong performances from starting pitchers Ryan Weathers for New York and Drew Rasmussen for Tampa Bay powered things instead of a conveyor belt full of relievers. Righty Kevin Kelly, in his second inning of relief, faltered in the ninth against the heart of the Yankees’ lineup, though.

[4 Takeaways: The Divisional Clash Between The Rays And Yankees]

First, center fielder Trent Grisham walked to lead off the inning, and was replaced by a pinch-runner once he got on base. Those extra wheels weren’t necessary, however, not with star slugger Aaron Judge coming to bat. Judge saw one pitch, a 92.5 mph sinker from Kelly on the inside part of the strike zone that didn’t sink nearly enough.

Ballgame, 2-0 Yankees, on Judge’s 17th homer of the year. That put Judge back in a tie with Munetaka Murakami for first in the American League and second in MLB, behind Kyle Schwarber’s 20, but more importantly in the moment gave the Yankees a split with the Rays in a series cut short — temporarily — by the weather, at a time Tampa Bay sits ahead of New York in the AL East. The Yankees are 4.5 back of the Rays as is; even further back isn’t going to help matters.

2 Triples For Carroll Makes Notable 51

Diamondbacks’ right fielder Corbin Carroll had himself a game on Sunday against the Rockies. He went 4-for-4 with a run and a pair of RBIs, as well as two triples. That alone would be worth noting — especially in the context of a 9-1 victory against Colorado in the series’ rubber game — but the first of those triples was also special. It was the 50th of Carroll’s young career.

As MLB’s Sarah Langs noted, the only player to get to at least 50 triples and 80 homers faster than Carroll in his 537 games was Yankees’ legend and Hall of Famer, Lou Gehrig, who managed the feat in 461. That’s pretty great in a vacuum, but remember that baseball stadiums used to be built a whole lot more triple-friendly, too, and with outfielders not exactly having the positioning notes and arms they do in the outfield today to stop a Corbin Carroll from happening, either.

Oh, and then Carroll hit another triple later, too, don’t forget about that.

The 25-year-old is now batting .301/.399/.580 while leading the majors in triples with eight, and in OPS at .979. It’s still early, but he’s having his best season yet in a career already full of real good ones.

Twins Earn Rare Sweep Of Red Sox

Not a great weekend for teams trying to reverse their fortunes. Well, sort of: the Marlins and Astros have to appreciate their good fortune, at least, and you can add the Twins to that list, as in another battle of teams facing off to try to get it together, it was Minnesota that came out ahead with yet another weekend sweep.

It was the Twins’ first sweep of the Red Sox at Fenway Park since 1994, so it’s been awhile. And it almost didn’t come to pass, either: Minnesota won by just two runs on Friday and on Saturday, and then Sunday’s contest ended with the Twins up by a single run. A win is a win and a loss is a loss, though, and Boston doesn’t get extra credit for almost winning, nor do the Twins lose credit for outscoring the Sox by a combined five runs in three games.

In the bottom of the fourth, first baseman Willson Contreras launched his 11th home run of the season to tie things up, 3-3, and then shortstop Marcelo Mayer actually put the Red Sox ahead, 4-3, with a single to right later that same inning. The Twins would get those runs back shortly after, with right fielder Austin Martin doubling in the tying run in the top of the sixth before third baseman Brooks Lee put the Twins up 6-4 that scored both Martin and shortstop Ryan Kreidler.

Martin would then make a hell of a catch going back, in the rain, with a runner on and no outs, helping to keep Boston off the board in the eighth.

This would prove important later, because Boston rallied in the ninth. Second baseman Nick Sogard tripled to open the inning, then backstop Carlos Narváez walked before being replaced by pinch-runner Connor Wong. Third baseman Isiah Kiner-Falefa, who had entered into the game earlier as a defensive replacement, would then hit a double to drive in Sogard… but not Wong.

That was a bit of a desperate and unnecessary send there, considering the Sox still had just the one out and the top of the order was coming up. And it got even more obviously unnecessary after seeing how things played out afterward: Yoendrys Gómez balked against the next batter, moving Kiner-Falefa to third, then he hit left fielder Jarren Duran with a pitch. It very well could have been a tie game with the winning run at third and one out at this point; the pitches thrown by new reliever Travis Adams might have been different in a changed scenario, but as is, he allowed a fly ball to right against Ceddanne Rafaela, 250 feet out, that could have brought in the winning run on a sac fly. Instead, it ended the game and the series.

The Twins are now 26-27, in third in the AL Central and back to a positive run differential after facing Boston. The Sox, meanwhile, have dropped to 13 games back in the AL East, and are 3.5 back of the final wild card spot.

The First Homer Is Always The Quietest

Esmerlyn Valdez was called up by the Pirates on Friday, and on Sunday, the rookie right fielder hit his first big-league homer. The reward? Silence.

It’s a classic for a reason, people. Luckily, the Pirates knew how important this was to him, and so Valdez got the ball back. But it cost him, thanks to a shrewd — but not overly demanding — young fan.

Alright, maybe you could be a little more demanding, kid, jerseys aren’t cheap and all.

Orioles Walk Off Tigers

It’s been a tough season for Tigers’ closer Kenley Jansen to this point. Yes, he moved up the all-time saves leaderboard, but overall he now has a 5.02 ERA and is 1-3 on the year already, despite being deployed regularly with Detroit in the lead. The latest of those Ls came on Sunday, as the Orioles walked off Detroit, courtesy a Colton Cowser home run.

Baltimore’s left fielder — who had entered earlier in the game as a pinch-hitter in the nine spot — hit his second homer of the year, a three-run shot to give the O’s the win in the first game of a doubleheader against Detroit.

The second game didn’t go nearly so well for Baltimore — the makeup of Saturday’s postponed game was a 4-1 loss — but that just highlights the importance of this swing all the more.

Angels Walk It Off, Too, But Much Differently

The Angels walked it off, as well, but their way was not as standard as that of the Yankees or Orioles or anyone from Sunday. Gavin Collyer came on in relief for the Rangers to pitch the bottom of the ninth in a 1-1 game, and he found success out of the gate by striking out first baseman and three-hitter Vaughn Grissom. DH Jorge Soler then hit a single, though, and was replaced with pinch-runner Donovan Walton on second after the next batter, right fielder Jo Adell, was hit on a pitch to put Soler in scoring position.

And that’s when the weird began. Third baseman Oswaldo Perez grounded into a force out, the second of the inning, but… well, you should watch to see for yourself. 

Second baseman Justin Foscue bobbled the ball after stepping on second, and then his throw was not caught by first baseman Jake Burger, but it was Foscue charged with the error. The ball instead ricocheted away, toward the base coach’s box, and Burger lost sight of it. Long enough for Walton to decide to take off for home and score the walk-off run. Not only did this give Los Angeles the win, but also the sweep; there sure were some strong, repeated themes in this weekend of baseball.