Cubs players talk through ‘roller-coaster’ final innings of crazy win
CHICAGO — The Cubs sent their fans through the full gamut of emotions during Friday’s 13-11 win at Wrigley Field.
It was a wild day, a historic game and one of those “you had to be there” moments when Kyle Tucker hit a two-run, eighth-inning blast to headline a six-run outburst after the Cubs’ bullpen had surrendered 10 runs in the top half of the frame.
This is what Wrigley Field is supposed to sound like. It’s just April, and 140 games remain in the season, but it felt like one of those games where the Cubs could look back on and realize it was a catalyst.
“It was a lot of fun, little bit wild there at the end,” Tucker said after the game. “Overall, I can’t complain too much. We got the win, so I’m happy with it.”
That’s the “too long, didn’t read” summation from Tucker. Let’s take you through what Ian Happ called as a “roller-coaster” …
At 3:23 p.m., Happ hit a 381-foot grand slam to right center field to give the Cubs a five-run lead in the seventh inning. They added another run a few minutes later, and Wrigley Field was bumping.
The team was playing its first game back home in over a week after a West Coast road trip, and the 39,109 in attendance believed they were seeing a comfortable win over a potent Arizona Diamondbacks roster.
But Friday was one of those beautiful days at The Friendly Confines with the wind blowing out at 11 mph, so you knew runs would be bountiful — and the Diamondbacks quickly capitalized on that and flipped the mood at the historic ballpark.
[MORE: Cubs made history in wild win over Diamondbacks]
Just 37 minutes later, the Diamondbacks had scored 10 runs in the top of the eighth. Boos rained down as the Cubs jogged off the field after mercifully picking up the final out in the frame. Some fans headed for the exit — who could blame them? After all, only twice in the Cubs’ storied history had the team allowed 10 runs in an inning and won — and the last time was on Sept. 26, 1912, before the team moved to Wrigley.
But the Cubs tuned out the boos.
“You just got to stay locked in,” Cubs catcher Carson Kelly said after the game. “We gave up 10 in the inning, obviously we don’t want to do that, and I think the biggest thing is coming back in, regrouping and continue to fight.
“There’s still a lot of game left, and we have an offense that can rally off and it happens quick. On a day like today where the winds blowing out, you have a real [chance].”
It started with Nico Hoerner being hit by a pitch to lead off the bottom of the eighth and a walk to Pete Crow-Armstrong. Then Kelly — who has been just as crucial of an offseason pickup as Tucker — hit a three-run blast to cut the deficit to one run. It was his second home run of the day and his second multi-homer game of the season.
“It was great,” Kelly said. “Anytime you can come up with a good swing on it and have an opportunity to get us back in it is great. Today was a good day for it.
“Proud of our guys for sticking with it no matter what happens.”
Wrigley was loud and was waiting for a moment to erupt. Two batters after Kelly’s blast, Happ singled, setting the stage for Tucker’s first potential big moment at his new home ballpark. The crowd was on its feet and excited — this is why you trade away three players with years of service time for only one season of Tucker.
Boy, did he deliver.
He hit a 409-foot blast to right field off D-backs left-hander Joe Mantiply and sent Wrigley into pandemonium.
“It was cool,” Tucker said. “Obviously, these fans come out essentially every single game and they pack the stadium out. We want to come out there and win games and put on a show for them and do well. That’s just kind of respecting them coming out here and supporting us.
“It was a pretty cool moment just to see everyone cheering and everything.”
Sure, Cubs fans naturally will want to jump to the conclusion that these are the moments that can push Tucker to want to sign a contract extension before he hits free agency. But Friday was just about soaking in what makes baseball so great. Anything can happen.
And Tucker and the Cubs know — just like when they headed back into the dugout to boos after the top of the eighth inning — that they have to turn the page and come back Saturday to try and beat Arizona again.
“I think we have a really good group of people with both the staff, front office, the players and everyone,” Tucker said. “So, I think it’s a really good group that we have here, and I think we got a really special thing here this year.
“Hopefully we can just keep these good wins and good play going.”