It’s over, man. Jacob Webb once again blew a game out of the bullpen for the Chicago Cubs, but at least this time around it wasn’t in the most gut-wrenching fashion, as he actually set an MLB record earlier this season for three straight blown saves coming with two outs in the ninth inning. No, this time Craig Counsell used Webb in the seventh inning, when the Cubs were leading 3-2 over the Atlanta Braves.
A floating change-up was crushed by the notorious Cubs killer, especially at Wrigley Field, Ozzie Albies. A one-run lead vanished and turned into a one-run deficit for the Cubs after Webb surrendered his fourth home run in his last eight appearances out of the bullpen.
Again, it’s a real shame that we’re here. Webb has no business pitching in any high-leverage spots for the rest of the year, and that becomes a major issue for Counsell because Webb was literally the team’s best reliever just three weeks ago. Webb didn’t give up a run for two months, and now the team can’t trust him with any lead.
It’s been a slow decline that has suddenly become an avalanche of bad for Webb. You have to go back to Aug. 7 to find Webb’s last clean inning, which came against the Kansas City Royals.
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Meanwhile, the Cubs, who were up 3-0 heading into the sixth inning, were shut down by the Braves’ bullpen, and Edward Cabrera gave up a two-run home run in the ninth inning to Drake Baldwin. As a pitching staff, the Cubs have given up 227 home runs so far in 2026, the most home runs allowed by any MLB team.
Going forward, there is just no way that Counsell can rely on Webb with a lead, but it’s easy to say that from a distance because, as we’ve sadly been accustomed to in the past month, it’s not like the Cubs have many guys that you can actually trust out of the bullpen.
Tuesday marked the 11th time since Aug. 21 that the Cubs had any lead in a game and lost it. A few of those have been the starters blowing leads, but obviously Webb has been the main culprit out of the bullpen, choking away wins for the Cubs during the past four weeks.
The Cubs desperately need other guys to step up because there are no positive signs for Webb right now. He looks cooked.
