Chicago Cubs miscues scrap a defensive gem in 4-3 extra-innings walk-off loss — and Craig Counsell gets ejected again

Chicago Tribune

16 hours ago

PHILADELPHIA — Matthew Boyd kept coming back to the error.
Two innings earlier, the Chicago Cubs' lefty had caught Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Trea Turner leaning the wrong way at first base to end the third for his National League-leading fifth pickoff of the season. Boyd was primed to repeat it with rookie Otto Kemp in the fifth inning, but he wildly misfired and his pickoff throw got past first baseman Michael Busch to allow Kemp to advance from first to third.
Kemp scored on the next pitch as Boyd left a slider over the plate to Weston Wilson, whose single put the Phillies ahead. The Cubs came back to tie it in the eighth on Ian Happ's solo home run and took the lead in the top of the 11th. But the Phillies answered with two in the bottom half as Brandon Marsh's bases-loaded single against Daniel Palencia handed the Cubs a 4-3 walk-off loss Monday at Citizens Bank Park.
'The part that sticks out to me is the error, that's a difference in that game, that inning, that run, plays out differently, frankly if I pick that guy off, and more importantly, just make a good throw,' Boyd said. 'Even if he's not out, the inning plays out differently.'
That the Cubs were even in the game late is a testament to their defense helping the pitching staff navigate 16 hits. The offense managed just five, two of which were solo home runs, on a night Phillies ace Zack Wheeler tallied his 1,000th career strikeout and held them to one run in six innings. Kyle Tucker's home run was the first Wheeler surrendered in the first inning this year (13 starts).
'Our defense is super important,' manager Craig Counsell said. 'You see tonight we had two strikeouts. That means the ball is going to be in play a lot, and so we've got to play good defense. That's a strength of this team. We did it tonight, I think we'll continue to do it, and it's going to continue to be very important.'
The Cubs (40-26) turned three double plays and recorded two outfield assists on throws to second base by Tucker and Happ in the second and eighth innings, respectively.
For a second consecutive day, Counsell watched the end of the game from the visiting manager's office following an ejection, this time getting tossed in the bottom of the ninth inning. Counsell explained postgame he became upset when home plate umpire Stu Scheurwater didn't deny Phillies' Kemp was outside the baseline and interfered with catcher Carson Kelly's throw to first base on a chopper in front of the plate.
However, Scheurwater told Counsell he deemed Kemp's actions didn't affect the play because Busch caught the ball. Counsell disagreed and adamantly believed Kemp impacted the sequence, adding, 'it's a situation where if Michael doesn't catch the ball they call him out.'
Fortunately for the Cubs, it didn't come back to cost them the game that inning with Brad Keller and Drew Pomeranz getting the next three outs without a runner advancing past first base.
'He cares about this group and he cares about the team, and when he goes out there, it's to help the players to protect that guy,' Happ said of Counsell. 'And he knows the rules, he knows the rules really well and I think if there's one thing that's going to frustrate him, it's going to be the rules.'