Well, so much for that cushion as the top seed in the Wild Card, as the Chicago Cubs have stumbled into the second slot with less than a month to go in the regular season, and it’s the bullpen that’s blowing it down the stretch. Tuesday’s 9-4 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers was the latest display of incompetence from the relievers, as Daniel Palencia, Ryan Zeferjahn, Caleb Thielbar and Tyler Ferguson all allowed runs.
Palencia, who returned from the injured list during the Cubs’ last road trip and was supposed to give the bullpen a boost, has been atrocious. He was credited with the loss on Tuesday, coming in relief of Matthew Boyd in the sixth inning with runners at second and third with one out. Trying to protect a 3-1 lead, Palencia allowed Brice Turang to score from third on a balk, and then the Brewers tied it on an Andrew Vaughn double that hit off the glove of Seiya Suzuki down the right field line.
The defense certainly didn’t help out in the sixth inning, as the Brewers’ first two base runners reached base on infield hits. The Suzuki play was by far the biggest whiff, but it doesn’t take away the fact that Palencia couldn’t execute a 0-2 pitch against Christian Yelich, who smashed a go-ahead two-run home run to cap off the four-run sixth inning.
Palencia has looked rough after missing two months of action, so maybe you still have faith in him getting back into a groove. However, the acquisition of Zeferjahn has been a disaster.
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The Cubs scored a run in the bottom half of the sixth inning to make it a one-run game, but then Zeferjahn came in and gave up two more runs, the second charged after he exited, and Thielbar allowed the inherited runner to score.
In 10 innings with the Cubs since the trade deadline, Zeferjahn has given up eight earned runs on nine hits, including two home runs.
Overall, as a bullpen dating back to Aug. 11, the Cubs rank 22nd in MLB with a 4.81 ERA. During that stretch, the Cubs have five blown saves, tied with two other teams for the most. This bullpen is starting to give me those 2023 vibes, when you have a bunch of guys who were great for a long time, but then lost steam and broke down in September. The problem right now is that the Cubs don’t have many other options. Palencia has to be good. Zeferjahn has to be good. Jacob Webb has to be good. If they don’t turn it around fast, then it could get very ugly for the Cubs down the stretch.
