Chicago Cubs Score and Recap (9/18/24): A’s 5, Cubs 3 – Oakland Rallies Late to Take Series
The Cubs had more bullpen issues against the A’s on Wednesday afternoon as they let another potential win slip away. Oakland scored two runs in both the 7th and 8th innings to take home a 5-3 victory.
Starting pitchers Justin Steele and Brady Basso kept both teams off the board through the first three frames. Steele was limited in his first game back from elbow tendinitis and had to leave in the 3rd after hitting his pitch count. Ethan Roberts took over and surrendered a solo home run in the 4th inning to first baseman Tyler Soderstrom that gave the Athletics a 1-0 edge.
Chicago finally got to Basso in the bottom of the 5th inning to take the lead as Nico Hoerner and Pete Crow-Armstrong singled and Miguel Amaya walked to load the bases with nobody out. Dansby Swanson hit a ground ball that deflected off the glove of third baseman Nick Allen for a game-tying infield single. Seiya Suzuki then hit an RBI single and Cody Bellinger added a sacrifice fly to put the home team up 3-1.
Drew Smyly‘s recent struggles continued Wednesday in the 7th inning, which began with a pair of singles and a sacrifice bunt to move the tying run into scoring position with one down. Smyly gave up an RBI groundout to Lawrence Butler and was pulled for Nate Pearson, who allowed an infield hit on a dribbler off the bat of slugger Brent Rooker that evened the score.
Pearson went back out for the 8th and gave up a go-ahead RBI double to Zack Gelof. Later in the frame, Hoerner threw home in an attempt to nab Gelof at the plate on a Soderstrom grounder but the throw was tardy and Oakland took a 5-3 advantage. The North Siders rapped into a pair of double plays in the final three innings and went down to defeat. (Box score)
Key Moment
After being very reliable most of the year, Smyly has hit the skids in September and it hurt the Cubs again Wednesday.
Why the Cubs Lost
The hitters did nothing outside of one inning and the ‘pen slipped again.
Stats That Matter
- Good to see Steele healthy enough to return to the rotation: 2.2 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 1 K, and 3 BB.
- Hoerner had a couple more singles and has his OPS close to .700.
Bottom Line
With nothing left to play for right now, the Cubs are tinkering with bullpen roles trying to figure out who will stay in 2025. It’s pretty clear the on-field results have been negatively impacted by that recently.
On Deck
The Cubs welcome the Washington Nationals to Wrigley Field for four days starting Thursday at 6:40pm CT. Javier Assad is on the mound against Patrick Corbin in a game available on Marquee and 670 The Score.