MILWAUKEE — Moisés Ballesteros’ return to the majors left him running on little sleep.
A Triple-A night game followed by a 3 a.m. wake-up call to fly from Des Moines to get to American Family Field in time for first pitch Wednesday afternoon meant a quick snooze before joining the Chicago Cubs for a pivot game against the division-leading Milwaukee Brewers.
Inevitably, the game’s biggest moment found Ballesteros. The Cubs had struggled with runners in scoring position in the series, coming into the game 4 for 20 in such situations in the two losses to the Brewers. As the Cubs held a one-run lead in the third inning with two outs and the bases loaded, the 21-year-old rookie went with an outside 1-2 change-up from Brewers starter Freddy Peralta to the opposite field for a bases-clearing double to the left-center field gap.
The Brewers scored a run in each of the next two innings off Shota Imanaga to pull within one, but the Cubs put them away in a 10-3 victory Wednesday.
“I would say that’s the best thing that I could have accomplished,” Ballesteros said through an interpreter of his first MLB extra-base hit. “Just being able to contribute. It was a great feeling, and I’m happy was able to contribute to it.”
The Cubs (63-45) have still not been swept in a three-game series this season. By salvaging the final game in Milwaukee, the Cubs pull back within one game of first place in the division while evening the season series against the Brewers. It sets up a huge five-game series at Wrigley Field on Aug. 18-21 in their final regular-season meeting of the year, potentially determining the division title if it comes down to the tiebreaker.
The magnitude of Wednesday’s win was not overlooked by the Cubs.
“It’s going to be a fun two months, it’s going to be a challenging two months,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “There’s a really long way to go. We needed this game today for sure, and the guys delivered a big effort.”
When the team next comes together Friday at Wrigley Field, the clubhouse could look a bit different pending moves before Thursday’s 5 p.m. trade deadline. Unlike the past two years, the Cubs are firmly buyers and have earned an investment in the big league roster from team president Jed Hoyer and the front office to help them secure a playoff spot and make a deep run in October.
“That’s Jed’s mindset, absolutely,” Counsell said. “But it takes two, you know? You’ve got to find a partner with that. This team has played well for sure. And we’re excited about what lies ahead, and no matter what lies ahead, we’re excited to get after it for the next two months.”
The Cubs finished with a July record of 14-10 after going .500 in June. Pending the Los Angeles Dodgers game Wednesday, only the Brewers have a better winning percentage in Major League Baseball than the Cubs.
“I don’t think anybody’s taken this little weird stretch as anything other than going 3-3 on the road, like, it’s a pretty good place to be for being disappointed in how we perform,” said Pete Crow-Armstrong, who tallied three hits, including two doubles, and an RBI Wednesday. “So, still a lot of confidence in this room and in every aspect of this team. And it’s definitely nice to be able to minimize the damage a little bit today, and we’ve got a lot of games with them coming up.”
Their continuous ability not to let a bad game or two spiral into an extended losing streak speaks to the Cubs’ talent and experience. They haven’t lost more than three consecutive games, doing so only twice, and seem to consistently find a way to minimize the damage of a mediocre series performance.
Imanaga’s bounce-back outing Wednesday after getting roughed up by the White Sox — following the Cubs’ most consistent starter, Matthew Boyd, and his tough performance in Monday’s series opener in Milwaukee — was timely as the Cubs continue to look for upgrades to their pitching staff.
“This is my second time experiencing this time of year, and I kind of felt last year how tough of a situation it is, and the difficulty of MLB,” Imanaga said through interpreter Edwin Stanberry. “Winning with who we have is important, and we’ll see what happens. And then wherever the roster is we’ll win with that.”
Beyond acquiring at least one starting pitcher, the Cubs could use one or two proven relievers, especially as two other top teams in the National League added quality closers Wednesday. The Philadelphia Phillies landed Minnesota Twins closer Jhoan Duran, and the New York Mets traded for St. Louis Cardinals closer Ryan Helsley.
Exactly four years ago, Hoyer traded shortstop Javier Báez and right-hander Trevor Williams to the Mets for Crow-Armstrong, fittingly marked by another standout offensive game by the 23-year-old center fielder. While at that time the organization was far from its current position, the Cubs know they have the talent to be a postseason threat. How that roster is constructed after Thursday is the biggest question over the final hours until the trade deadline.
“We’ve put ourselves in this position to let Jed go do his work,” Crow-Armstrong said. “And I think that’s the best, most confidence-building thing ever is, like, you know what? If we don’t do a single thing, I’ve got the same confidence in this team to go play very well in the playoffs and go make a really good run.”