King Tuck clutch as Cubs top Marlins |
Dustin Riese
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- 5 hours ago
MIAMI - Although it's nice to have a new balanced schedule where every team plays every other team, it has its flaws. One of those flaws is playing the same team twice in a week which is what the Chicago Cubs (30-20) and Miami Marlins (19-29) just went through.
After taking two of three from the fish at Wrigley Field last week, the Cubs entered Wednesday's contest at Loan Depot Park needing a victory to clinch this series and the season series. Say what you want about the Marlins' record, but this is a team that has given the Cubs fits in recent years, and that continued this season as several of these games were close throughout. That included today's game, as the Cubs' offense, minus Kyle Tucker, was held in check, delivering a 2-1 victory to claim the series. Tucker is the one who will stand out the most as he had three hits for the third time in the series and drove in both of the Cubs' runs, as he not only opened the scoring, but closed out the scoring late. Facing off against promising right-hander Max Meyer, Tucker uncorked his second first-inning homer in as many games, as it was the Cubs who were off and running again, 1-0. THE LEAD. pic.twitter.com/9zpd2SjMAE That was the only run the right-hander would allow as he gave the Marlins six strong innings, walking one and striking out four. With Meyer doing his part on the mound, it was going to come down to the Marlins' offense to return the favor, and early on, it looked as if this was going to be Cade Horton's first loss of the season. Already one of just six starters to win his first two decisions with the Cubs, Horton was trying to join Jordan Wicks as the only pitchers in franchise history to win each of their first three decisions. After allowing a pair of singles to Jesus Sanchez and Eric Wagaman, it was a walk to Otto Lopez that loaded the bases and had the Marlins on the verge of breaking things open. Although that never happened, Connor Norby did manage to bring in a run with an infield single. It was Horton who avoided any further damage, as this was a 1-1 game after one inning. This was one of those starts that you wanted to see from Horton, as he was far from perfect, walking three and striking out three, but he was also good enough, as he held the Marlins to that lone run. He also pitched into the sixth inning for the first time in his young career as the Cubs seem to be taking off the training wheels more and more. You could make the case that the second inning is when the momentum shifted, as the Marlins not only had an opportunity to take the lead but also to open up a multi-run lead. Graham Pauley started things off with a leadoff double before an infield single from Derek Hill put a pair of runners on and no outs. Horton bounced back nicely to pick up a double play, which killed what looked to be a potential big inning. Putting traffic on the bases wasn't an issue for Miami as they had at least one baserunner in each of the first four innings, but only had one run to show for it as the rookie made the pitches he needed to make to keep things close. After retiring the first batter he faced in the sixth, Horton was lifted in favor of Caleb Thielbar, as it was going to come down to the Cubs' pen the rest of the way. Whether it be Thielbar or Brad Keller, the Cubs' chances of winning this game continued to increase as those two continued to keep the Marlins' bats in check, which gave the offense all the confidence they needed. With the score still tied 1-1 in the eighth, Anthony Bender committed one of the biggest cardinal sins in baseball as he not only walked Matt Shaw to lead things off, but did it on four pitches. Shaw wound up stealing second one pitch later to put himself in scoring position, as that would come back to bite the Marlins late. Already with one homer under his belt, Tucker strolled back to the plate and had a chance to play hero. However, with first base open, no one would've been surprised to see him walk. Instead, Bender elected to pitch to him, and after going with several sliders off the outside corner, it was Tucker who won the war as he flared a single to left and pushed home the go-ahead and eventually game-winning run. Looking to add on in the ninth, Michael Busch opened the inning with a leadoff double off Tyler Phillips, and once again, the Cubs offense was set up in a good spot. Still standing on second, but with two outs, it was Miguel Amaya trying to come through as he delivered a hit to keep the line moving. However, with Busch getting thrown out at home trying to score on the play, it was going to come down to Daniel Palencia in the ninth, as he was on to protect another one-run lead. Palencia took the loss on Monday after blowing the save, but the best part of baseball is that you get another opportunity shortly after, which is what Palencia was hoping to capitalize on. That he did as Palencia recorded the Marlins in order with three flyouts to secure his first save of 2025 as the Cubs take the series finale 2-1. Tucker was the lone Cub with multiple hits, leading the way with three.
