CINCINNATI -- Just when it looked like the Chicago Cubs were going to squander another opportunity against a losing team, Taylor Teagarden turned the tables.
The third-string catcher turned a 101 mph Aroldis Chapman fastball around and laced it up the middle for a ninth-inning run-scoring single that snapped a 5-5 tie and gave the Cubs a 6-5 win over the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on Wednesday night.
The win helped Chicago avoid being swept in a doubleheader and losing another series against a sub-.500 team. The Cubs are now 5-5 over the first 10 games of a stretch of 20 straight against teams with losing records: They went 1-2 against the White Sox in the last series before the All-Star break, 2-1 at Atlanta this past weekend, and 2-2 in the four-game series against the Reds that included the makeup of an April 25 game postponed by rain.
The Cubs head back to Chicago to open a six-game homestand against Philadelphia and Colorado before playing a four-game series at Milwaukee. All three of those teams went into Wednesday’s schedule last in their respective divisions, yet the Cubs weren't making as much of their current opportunity as many observers thought they might.
“We know we’re walking out of here stealing two games, especially this one [with] Chapman,” All-Star first baseman Anthony Rizzo said. “We know this is a big stretch coming up. We've got to be prepared every day.”
Manager Joe Maddon believes folks shouldn't be fooled by teams with losing records.
"I see these teams, and I know their record isn't what they're supposed to [be], but they're good teams," Maddon said. "[The Reds have] got a very good offensive ballclub. The White Sox, they pitch really, really well, so I know what the records look like, and I know what you're supposed to do, but it's not like you just throw your glove or your hat out there and you win because you have a better record than the other team does."
Rizzo pointed out that having guys such as Teagarden come off the bench and make meaningful contributions can't hurt.
"That's huge for us," he said. "We need those guys off the streets coming out of nowhere to do something for us."
"That's about as crazy as crazy gets," Maddon said. "Talk about your esprit de corps moments. Almost everybody was involved in that win. Even the pitchers were putting their spikes on."
Teagarden had looked so hapless in two previous at-bats in the series that he was given little chance against Chapman.
"That's the incongruency of this game at its best," Maddon said. "He gets blown away at 90 [earlier in series] and takes a 100 miles per hour pitch up the middle. Can you explain that to me? I can't."
Still, the Cubs know the key to a sustained win stretch is consistent starting pitching, which they are unlikely to get from a suddenly depleted starting rotation. The Cubs designated Clayton Richard for assignment after his start on Monday. Jason Hammel is still getting over tightness in his hamstring, and Dallas Beeler lasted just two innings in Wednesday's nightcap.
Maddon pointed out the Cubs aren’t the only team looking for mound help.
"Everybody's looking for that other guy," he said.
