Chicago Cubs: Ninth-inning rally falls short as Rays take series opener

A ninth-inning rally fell short on the Fourth of July at Wrigley Field, as the Chicago Cubs dropped the series opener to Tampa Bay by a 6-5 final.

A bizarre fourth inning that included two balls that physically deflected off the body or glove of Jon Lester ended with a five-spot for the visiting Tampa Bay Rays. Despite two runs in the fifth, the Chicago Cubs dropped the series opener by a 6-3 final.

Trevor Plouffe led off with a single in the fourth. A two-run home run by Tim Beckham, his 11th on the year, made it a 3-1 Tampa Bay lead. Rays starter Chris Archer, who was hitless in his big-league career coming into Tuesday, singled up the middle, scoring Adeiny Hechavarria. A Stephen Souza double capped the frame, giving the visitors a 6-1 lead they never relinquished.

Chicago (41-42) fell below .500 with the loss on Tuesday afternoon. The Cubs opened the scoring in the bottom of the second via a Jason Heyward RBI single. The outfielder made his return from a DL stint, going 1-for-3 with an RBI.

Chicago Cubs

The Rays answered right back on an Evan Longoria sac fly in the third. The Cubs’ only other tallies came in the bottom of the fifth inning against Archer. Run-scoring singles from Kris Bryant and Ben Zobrist made it a 6-3, where it remained until the ninth.

A rally falls short in the ninth

Facing Tampa Bay closer Alex Colome, Albert Almora Jr. led off with an infield single. Jon Jay worked a walk but then Bryant popped out on the infield for the first out of the ninth.

Anthony Rizzo stepped to the plate with a chance to tie the game. He worked the count full before lining a ball into right-center, allowing Almora to score to make it a 6-4 game.

With men on the corners, Zobrist dug in. After fouling off half-a-dozen pitches, he chopped a ball to first. Rizzo was forced out at second, but Jay scored to make it a 6-5 game.

Ian Happ dug in with all the marbles on the line, looking to bottle some Fourth of July magic. The rookie worked the count full, putting Zobrist in motion at first. After falling down 0-2, Happ worked a walk, bringing up Heyward, who flew out to left, stranding both the tying and winning runs on-base.

Archer outduels Lester

Archer, who continues to be linked to various teams in trade rumors, pitched well. Despite throwing a season-high 116 pitches, the right-hander allowed just three runs over six innings of work.

He struck out eight and walked three, surrendering eight hits on the afternoon. His counterpart, Lester, was solid – minus that travesty of a fourth inning. He left after just five at 100 pitches, having allowed six runs – five earned. He struck out six and walked one.

What’s Next

Chicago and Tampa Bay conclude their brief two-game set at Wrigley Field Wednesday.

First pitch is at 1:20 p.m. Struggling left-hander John Lackey squares off against Blake Snell.