Still no relief for puppies after huge bullpen disappointments: “It wasn’t a good day”

Phoenix-I Chicago Cubs were six outings from the victory of a team of four games against a very hard team of ARIZONA Diamondbacks. But sometimes a bullpen that seemed already shaky was exposed again. In a devastating eighth inning, three puppies of puppies joined to allow eight points, transforming an advantage of four shots into a deficit of four shots while the CUBS lost 10-6 on Sunday afternoon in Chase Field.

“We launched well for five inning, and then we fought for three inning essentially,” said manager Craig Counsell. “Caleb (Thielbar) got a couple of big outs in the seventh, and in the eighth we did not launch well. They made the shots hit and did something with them.”

Matthew Boyd limited the four -round diamondbacks, all singles and scattered three walks while he closed an offense that brought baseball to the races marked last year. But Nate Pearson raised him in the sixth and allowed a race, then came out in the seventh with another race and fell off with just one outside. Thielbar entered and withdrew the next two beats, keeping the puppies clinging to an advantage of a race.

A threesome Kyle Tucker’s humerus in the next half inning has extended the advantage of the puppies to four, apparently giving the bullpen enough of a pillow. But Thielbar walked on the first two beats and was raised by Eli Morgan. Morgan rapidly withdrew the first batter he faced, Ketel Mars, but then gave up a double RBI and a two -pitty humerus. Suddenly, an advantage of four shots had vanished.

When Morgan came out, there were seven shots and two outs on the scoreboard. Colin Rea arrived and allowed another race before the frame was miserably end.

“It seems that many balls were in the center,” said Morgan. “They will have to go back and look at him. But they were making a hard contact.”

There have been four extra-base shots in the inening, three allowed by Morgan. None of them was not even cheap shots, ranging from 102.7 to 107.5 miles per hour.

Josh Naylor and Diamondbacks enjoyed the eighth inning. (Norm Hall / Getty Images)

The rescuers who launched Sunday, Morgan seemed the best coming. In his two releases before this loss, he had launched three inning, he allowed only two shots as he left and did not walk. His gearbox had been extraordinarily effective and looked like one of the best arms in the Bullpen.

Thielbar’s left -handed also had a nice aspect in his previous two work inning. There is a possibility that this is just a blip for both him and Morgan.

But Pearson hasn’t had a clean trip yet. He worked 3 inning 1/3, gave up six points and walked four jokes while he hit only two. Any success he gave up was hit while fighting to miss the barrels.

“We got a large group of boys over there,” Boyd said. “We have so much talent. There is a lot of experience. There is not an ounce of concern when it comes to those guys.”

Boyd will not transpire his teammates, of course. And Counsell is not about to throw the Bullpend under the bus after six games. Players and managers understand that they cannot react excessively to a handful of games. They know that this group has had unique circumstances to face the season.

But many fans will not be patient or will listen to excuses. They remember last season when it took months before the group stabilized. They remember 2023 when the trusted Solievi did not emerge until the middle of the summer and they were so abused that they were the main culprits of a September collapse.

But this group should have been different. A nice mix of veterans and young people had to bring consistency to the bullpen. But the veteran Ryan also looked early. The right earned the rescue on Saturday, but not without cardiac palpitations for those who looked at while transforming an advantage of three shots into a victory of a race that heroic required by Dansby Swanson.

Counsell says he just needs more time on the mound to be blocked.

“You really want to take him out there,” he said on Saturday. “Obviously, it means that we are winning and this is a good thing. But he needs to launch. We have to take him out there to launch.”

Pressly said he felt well and his fast ball was regularly hitting 94 mph on Saturday, which was a tick from his two previous outings. But now he has worked three inning, he has walked four jokes, given up on six shots and three races while he hit only one. It is essential that you find its best self or that all this can quickly come out of the rails.

Bullpens are volatile units. The rescuers in general are unpredictable. Every year throughout the League, there are unknown weapons that emerge as dominant forces outside the pen. Counsell admitted a lot before on the weekend when he said they would need launchers who could not have contributed in advance to intensify and develop in consistent explosions.

It would not be strange to see the group finding its rhythm. The puppies were tested soon, in front of two of the best crimes of last season. It is no longer easier with an athletic team that has strong training and is playing in what should be an offensive refuge in Sacramento.

Counsell stressed that he used every Sunday available. Julian Merryweather warmed twice on Thursday and twice Saturday and did not bounce on Sunday. He did not throw in a match from Japan.

Pressly launched 29 shots on Saturday and Porter Hodge, which looks like the best relief of the group in advance, launched 18 Saturday after 23 on Thursday. Brad Keller launched 46 shots on Friday.

Counsell did not have many options and was doing his best to put him together after Boyd launched 92 shots in his five strong work inning. Counsell and the technical staff expected that this was a difficult trait for their bullpen. The trip to Japan did not allow their rescuers to accumulate on back-to-back games in spring. The travel game action and limited in the previous two weeks this series involved a very disconnected final stretch of spring. Tyson Miller and Ryan Brasier are on the list of injured and the group is still trying to find the best.

The Cubs hoped to avoid a blow like Sunday. While sitting in the midst of seven consecutive games, they must hope that they do not unleash in a hole before due to a bullpen overwork and apparently shake. These types of losses are demoralizing if they occur regularly, so bullpen must avoid long sections of poor performance.

Counsell has crossed a lot and understands that a bad day does not define a bullpen. They may have to make a roster move before the Sacramento series (or perhaps during), and there will be changes during the season. But for now, these are the guys who are about to launch and have to intensify and find a way to deliver victories.

“This is our group and we must certainly be a little better than and expect,” said Counsell. “And we’ll do it. Today was not a good day.”

(Top photo of the catcher Miguel Amaya and the departure launcher Matthew Boyd: Allan Henry / Image Images)