Chicago Cubs: Bullpen proving its mettle during recent winning streak

Game 1

Following a solid outing from starter John Lackey (seven innings, four hits, two earned runs, two walks and six strikeouts), manager Joe Maddon called upon the electric arm of Carl Edwards Jr. Despite having only walked eight batters in 20 innings prior to Friday’s game, Edwards would walk three Cardinals’ hitters.

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In total, Edwards threw only 23 pitches on Friday, with eight of those being strikes. As a result of his lack of command, Edwards was only able to record two outs before Maddon replaced him with Pedro Strop. Strop needed just five pitches to strike out Yadier Molina and end the inning.

With the Cubs holding the lead heading into the ninth, Maddon called upon closer Wade Davis to get the final three outs.

Before Davis’ appearance on Friday, he had not seen action since May 24. Nevertheless, Davis tossed just 11 pitches (six strikes) to record the save, his eleventh of the season.

Game 2

After receiving a quality start from Jon Lester, Maddon turned the game over to Hector Rondon.

Rondon entered the game with a 4.19 ERA on the season. That elevated ERA was a result of allowing eight earned runs in ten innings of work during the month of May. That horrible month came on the heels of an April in which Rondon allowed just one earned run in 9 1/3 innings.

Despite his recent struggles, Rondon looked like his 2015 self as he needed just ten pitches to sit the Cardinals down in order.

After Rondon’s strong showing, Koji Uehara was summoned out of the bullpen to work the eighth inning. Uehara was brought in during the offseason to provide the Cubs with some veteran depth along the back-end of the bullpen. The 42-year-old Uehara has always been a solid option out of the bullpen. Before joining the Cubs, Uehara posted a 2.53 ERA with 93 saves, and an ERA+ of 170 in eight big league seasons.

In his outing on Saturday, Uehara looked like his normal self as he sat down the top third of the Cardinals’ lineup on just 15 pitches (nine strikes).

Going into the ninth, the Cubs found themselves in need of a save for the second game in a row. This proved to be no problem for Davis as he struck out two batters and walked another en route to his twelfth save of the season.

Game 3

In a game where starting pitcher Kyle Hendricks lasted only four innings, the Cubs leaned heavily on their bullpen in hopes of pulling off the series sweep.

After a 40-plus pitch fourth inning, Hendricks was pulled in favor of Justin Grimm. To say that Grimm has struggled this season would be an understatement. The 28-year-old righty has performed so badly that he has been sent to Triple-A at points during the season.

Entering play on Sunday, Grimm had only pitched in one major league game since May 7.

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Sporting a 6.61 ERA, Grimm went to work in the fifth. Perhaps, to the surprise of many, Grimm worked a clean inning in which he walked a batter, but ended up striking out the side.

Rondon struggles again

With the Cubs holding a two-run lead entering the sixth, Maddon again called Rondon out of the bullpen. This proved to be a mistake as Rondon surrendered two runs on two hits and recorded just one out. In order to stop the bleeding, Strop was ushered to the mound. Not only did Strop finish the sixth, but he worked the seventh inning as well, needing only 17 pitches to do so.

Once the Cubs picked up a lead in the seventh, Maddon employed his top-tier arms. That attack started with Edwards, who worked a clean inning, making a neat snag on a come-backer to the mound in the process. Edwards’ solid outing on Sunday lowered his season ERA to 0.83.

Needing a save, but not wanting to work Davis three days in a row, Maddon turned to Uehara to nail down the Cubs’ third-straight win. Uehara filled up the strike zone with 13 strikes (out of 17 total pitches) en route to his second save of 2017.

Series Totals

The Chicago Cubs have received great performances from their bullpen arms over the last three games. Take a look at each reliever’s numbers during those three games.

• Carl Edwards – 1 2/3 innings pitched, zero hits, zero earned runs, three walks, and two strikeouts.
• Pedro Strop – two innings pitched, zero hits, zero earned runs, zero walks, and two strikeouts.
• Hector Rondon – 1 1/3 innings pitched, two hits, two earned runs, a walk, and a strikeout.
• Koji Uehara – two innings pitched, zero hits, zero earned runs, three strikeouts, and a save.
• Justin Grimm – one inning pitched, zero hits, zero earned runs, one walk, and three strikeouts.
• Wade Davis – two innings pitched, zero hits, zero earned runs, one walk, three strikeouts, and two saves.

As a group, the Cubs’ bullpen totaled ten innings pitched, two hits, two earned runs, six walks, 14 strikeouts and three saves in the three game series against the Cardinals. That means the Cubs’ bullpen registered a 1.80 ERA against St. Louis over the weekend.

There is no doubt the Cubs have some talented pitchers in their bullpen. Up until this point, the Cubs’ bullpen has been solid, but in this recent series, they took it up a notch.

If the Cubs’ hitters can continue to give the bullpen leads late in games, there is a good chance it will hold them.

Next: Chicago Cubs: Ian Happ homers twice as Cubs complete sweep

The Cubs’ bullpen is starting to come into its own. Now, it’s time for the starting pitching and offense to catch up.