Only a theater critic enjoys good drama more than the Cubs. Nothing comes easy for them.
After taking a 6-0 lead into the ninth inning against the Reds on Thursday afternoon, the Cubs’ bullpen nearly blew the game, and a loss would have all but destroyed the team’s playoff hopes.
Instead, Jeff Fassero struck out Ken Griffey Jr. to seal a harrowing 6-5 victory.
After four of the six batters Courtney Duncan faced in the ninth reached base, Fassero was called upon to retire infielder Wilton Guerrero, who had no home runs in 90 at-bats this season.
Lo and behold, Guerrero yanked Fassero’s 1-1 slider over the left-field wall for a three-run blast that cut the Cubs’ lead to 6-5. Cameras showed manager Don Baylor shaking his head. What was he thinking?
“Win by a run,” he said.
Fassero fell behind 2-0 to Griffey, but fought back to 2-2. Then, by his own count, Fassero shook off catcher Robert Machado three times.
“I wanted to throw a fastball and confuse [Griffey] a little bit,” he said.
Griffey fouled off the 2-2 pitch, and then Fassero struck him out on a forkball at his feet. “I confused him enough,” Fassero said.
The victory gave the Cubs two straight over the struggling Reds, who fell to 25-50 at home. Next up is a three-game series at Houston, which has taken command of the National League Central. The Astros defeated San Francisco 5-4 in 10 innings Thursday to remain seven games ahead of the Cubs. In the wild-card race, the Cubs remained 2 1/2 games behind leading St. Louis.
With only 16 games to go, Baylor said earning a wild-card playoff spot was a more realistic goal than overtaking Houston.
“You just have to concentrate on winning,” he said.
Rondell White helped them do that Thursday by going 4-for-4 with his 15th home run.
The Cubs also got a boost from the return of first baseman Fred McGriff, who had been sidelined since Sept. 8 with a strained left hamstring. McGriff ripped a three-run homer in the third inning that traveled 409 feet.
Jason Bere played it smart. To compensate for not having pitched in 11 days, the right-hander slowed his mechanics.
“I made a concerted effort to not rush my delivery,” he said. “That was the key.”
Bere fired seven shutout innings before handing the ball to the bullpen. For the Cubs, at least the drama produced a happy ending.
