Cubs 6, Marlins 3: A good start

We all knew before the Cubs began this road trip that they had to win and win and keep winning to have any chance at the third NL wild card spot.

They still have a long way to go to get there, but they at least started the journey with a good 6-3 win over the Marlins on Friday night.

They gave the Marlins a 1-0 lead at the end of the second inning and then went to work in the third.

Pete Crow-Armstrong opened the inning (VIDEO).

This is the first inside-the-park home run of PCA’s career, and I don’t think it will be the last. His speed always comes into play when a ball bounces in his favor, and this time it just flew around the bases. How fast?

More on IP HR by JohnW53 from BCB:

The Cubs’ last inside-the-park home run was hit by Seiya Suzuki on July 4, 2022, in Milwaukee. It gave the Cubs a 2-1 lead in the ninth inning.

According to Baseball-Reference, PCA was the Cubs’ 157th hit since 1912: 84 away and 73 at home. It was their first hit in Miami.

Vic Saier scored ten, Tommy Leach six and Frank Schulte, Billy Williams and Heinie Zimmerman five.

PCA was the 86th Cub with an IP HR since 1912.

Additionally, PCA’s “sprint speed” was reported at 30.4 feet per second, which is about 20.7 miles per hour. That’s fast!

The Cubs weren’t done in this inning either. Miguel Amaya followed PCA’s home run with a single and then Ian Happ hit a home run in the traditional fashion (VIDEO).

That’s 23 for Happ, just two less than his career high from 2021.

So the Cubs are leading 3-1 and Kyle Hendricks is playing a pretty good game. But the Marlins got another run from him in the second half of the third inning to make the score 3-2.

In the fifth inning, Hendricks gave Vidal Bruján a leadoff walk but was caught stealing (initially ruled safe, but overturned after review). That proved important, as a single and double then put runners on second and third base. Craig Counsell decided at that point to sub Hendricks for Tyson Miller.

Normally, that would have been a good thing since Miller has been so good this year. The broadcast talked about Miller’s really good walk rate.

And of course, what happened next? Miller walked the first two batters he faced, forced a run, and tied the game.

With the bases still loaded and two outs, Derek Hill hit a line drive that could have scored multiple runs… but Nico Hoerner grabbed it (VIDEO).

Miller calmed down and threw a scoreless sixth inning, and Drew Smyly and Porter Hodge combined to keep the Marlins off the scoreboard in the seventh.

The Cubs took the lead in the eighth inning. Seiya Suzuki led off with a single and moved to second base on a throwing error on an attempted pickoff. A ground out by Cody Bellinger moved Suzuki to third base.

Isaac Paredes, who was in a terrible slump, was able to break out of it with an RBI double (VIDEO).

About this double by JohnW53 from BCB:

Isaac Paredes’ eighth-inning double was just the 20th hit by a Cubs this season with only a runner on third base. Before his hit, they were 0 for 2 to start the game and 19 for 110 for the year – a sickly .173 batting average. They started the night batting .176, which was 29th among all 30 teams and an incredible 89 points below the other teams’ combined batting average of .265!

The Cubs were leading until the bottom of the eighth inning. Hodge stayed in the game and gave Otto Lopez a walk, but then caught him and struck out the next two batters. Hodge is quickly developing into an effective, reliable setup man.

The Cubs scored two important extra runs in the ninth inning. PCA hit a single, his second hit of the game, and then Amaya hit his second of the night, a ball that went out of the yard (VIDEO).

The ball was crushed! (VIDEO)

Now it’s up to Jorge López to finish things off, and he did so quickly with two strikeouts and this little dribble (VIDEO).

I wish Hector Neris all the best, but isn’t it refreshing to see a straight-up 11-pitch save like this one?

The Cubs are 5½ games behind the Braves and have the final wild-card spot because Atlanta also won on Friday. The Cardinals also won, but the Mets and Giants lost, leaving the Cubs one game ahead of the latter two. The Cubs can only keep winning, hopefully put themselves on a long winning streak and get some help.

They will make it two straight wins against Miami on Saturday afternoon and three straight wins overall. Shōta Imanaga will start for the Cubs and Valente Bellozo will start for the Marlins. Gametime on Saturday is 3:10 p.m. CT and will be televised on Marquee Sports Network.