CHICAGO — After dropping a series to the Pittsburgh Pirates at Wrigley Field, Chicago Cubs manager David Ross told reporters, "We've got to throw up wins. That's how we're going to get to the postseason. We've got to win baseball games."
His team certainly seemed to listen to that sage advice on Friday, using strong pitching, solid defense and timely hitting to post a 6-0 victory over the Colorado Rockies inside the Friendly Confines. Now with just eight games left in their regular season, Chicago posted its 80th victory of the season and, thanks to a Milwaukee Brewers road rout of the Miami Marlins on Friday night, moved into the final Wild Card spot.
So what did the Cubs have to say after the win on Friday? Here are three quotes that stood out to me.
Chicago Cubs manager David Ross saw his team play "good baseball"
There was little from the Cubs on Friday that looked like a team that was tightening up under the pressure of chasing the postseason. Chicago turned three double plays and blanked Colorado batters in potential scoring situations, with the Rockies going 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position.
"The wins right now, they all feel good, no matter how you get them," Ross said on Friday. "But it's just nice to see us play good baseball."
Chicago's defense and timely pitching helped Cubs pitchers work around seven walks that were issued. Only one of Colorado's hits went for extra bases, and that was Brenton Doyle's two-out double in the ninth inning when the game was well in hand.
If there was a recipe for how to start a pivotal series, it's exactly what the Cubs did on Friday.
Chicago Cubs pitcher Jameson Taillon proving offseason decision right
The opening frame for the Cubs certainly wasn't how David Ross or Taillon would have drawn it up. The right-hander issued a walk to two of the first three batters he faced and would throw 30 pitches in the inning. However, Taillon also recorded strikeouts for all three first-inning outs to help himself out of the jam he created.
Those strikeouts were part of seven that Taillon logged on the day, helping him work around four hits, four walks and a wild pitch. However, the main number to be seen after his six-inning effort was the zero that was in the run column for the Rockies.
Taillon's outing allowed him to earn his first win since August 8 and continue his recent dominance at Wrigley Field. Since July 23, he has allowed just six earned runs in 34.2 innings on the north side, equating to a 1.56 ERA during that stretch.
Outings like Friday are a reminder of why Taillon was chased by the Cubs this offseason, a franchise that landed him with a four-year, $68 million deal.
"This team went out and got me for a reason and I had an opportunity to go out and prove them right," Taillon said on Friday. "Having a good game on a day like today when we really needed it felt really good."
Chicago Cubs benefitting from Seiya Suzuki hot streak
With a 3-for-4 performance on Friday, including a two-run homer in the fourth inning that pushed the Chicago lead to 3-0, Suzuki became the third Japanese player to record a season with at least 20 home runs and 70 RBI, joining Hideki Matsui and Shohei Ohtani. It also continued a roll for Suzuki, who is batting .359 over his past 34 games, with nine homers and 29 RBI since August 18.
While Suzuki hasn't had many down days during that run, Thursday was one of them as he went 0-for-5 in the loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates. That effort was on Suzuki's mind when he stepped to the plate on Friday.
"To be honest with you, I don't think I'm at my peak performance," Suzuki told reporters through an interpreter on Friday. "Yesterday, I didn't get any hits. To bounce back off of that and get a couple of hits today with a homer is something I'm really happy about."
After missing the start of the season with an oblique strain, Suzuki put together a decent first half at the plate (slashing .259/.342/.405). However, since the All-Star break, those numbers have skyrocketed, making Suzuki one of the main cogs in the Chicago offense and someone who will be leaned upon for production in the final eight games of the regular season.
