For a few innings Tuesday night, this looked like a laugher. Ian Happ turned around a 104.4 mph missile against the Diamondbacks for his 23rd homer of the season, staking Chicago to a 3-0 lead and giving the building plenty to feel good about.
IAN HAPP BOMBS AWAY
Then the bullpen happened. Jacob Webb came in and couldn't hold the line, and by the time the smoke cleared the Cubs had surrendered all 5 runs of the game across the 8th and 9th innings, turning a comfortable lead into a loss.
Another bullpen disaster. All 5 runs given up in the 8th and 9th.
Barstool's Cubs corner did not hide its frustration. Big Cat's reaction went from sarcastic to blunt in the span of two tweets, thanking Webb ironically before admitting the team has real work to do before October.
Welp, no thank you Jacob Webb. Gotta figure some shit out in the next 5 weeks.
That "5 weeks" line isn't hyperbole. The Cubs are chasing the Brewers in the NL Central, and Milwaukee's lead has swelled to 7 games with roughly five weeks left in the regular season, per reporting on the division race. Chicago went out and got Kevin Gausman and Clay Holmes at the trade deadline to armor up the pitching staff for a playoff push, and relievers like Webb are supposed to be the bridge that gets games to the ninth intact, not the reason they're lost.
Mintzy's reaction summed up the vibe among Cubs fans watching the late innings unravel again.
Can’t believe the Cubs choked that game away.
None of this erases the good the Cubs have done to get into the wild card picture, and Happ's homer is a reminder the lineup can still do damage against playoff-caliber pitching. But blowing a multi-run lead in the final two innings is exactly the kind of game that stings more with five weeks on the clock than it would in May, and Craig Counsell's staff needs Webb and company to figure it out fast if this team wants to be playing meaningful baseball in October.