Seiya Suzuki and Alex Bregman finally deliver big home runs for Cubs in 9-3 win to avert sweep
DENVER — Even after Alex Bregman broke through with the type of power that has been lacking too often this season, the Chicago Cubs third baseman still wasn’t satisfied.
Bregman’s two-run home run in the seventh inning Thursday was one of four Cubs extra-base hits in a 9-3 win over the Colorado Rockies to avoid a sweep at Coors Field and move back over .500. Seiya Suzuki delivered the first big blow, connecting on an 0-1 slider from Rockies starter Ryan Feltner for a grand slam that put the Cubs ahead 4-1 in the fourth. They added a pair of runs in the fifth inning, and catcher Carson Kelly capped their scoring with a solo home run in the eighth.
Bregman’s homer, his sixth of the season, was his first with a runner on base. Still, he wasn’t satisfied. Bregman felt he should have homered on either of the first two pitches left over the plate in his second at-bat that resulted in a popout.
“The whole series was better, still missed too many pitches in the heart of the plate,” Bregman said. “Normally I have a 1.000 to 1.200 OPS in the middle of the plate. Right now, it’s not there. It’s god-awful. So today was a step in the right direction.”
The Cubs hadn’t slugged three home runs in a game since April 25, part of a four-week stretch to start the season of recording five games with three homers. Their nine runs in the win snapped a five-game streak of scoring three or fewer, which tied their longest such streak of the season. Right-hander Edward Cabrera did his part in the win, tossing 5 1/3 innings and allowing two runs on solo homers.
“We have very good offensive players, I think they’ve shown that this year, so the length, yeah, it’s surprising absolutely, and it’s challenging,” manager Craig Counsell said before the victory. “We’re all trying to do our best to put it in the right direction. We haven’t been able to come up with solutions so far.
“Our players are the source of the optimism. We have very talented, good players, and that absolutely creates optimism. There’s going to be struggles, and sometimes they confuse you, but the talent of our players is the source of optimism.”
It’s arguably a tossup between Suzuki and Bregman as to who needed a home run more. Bregman has looked better at the plate lately, though the power isn’t fully there and he’s missing too many hittable pitches over the plate. After Thursday’s performance, he has reached base in 31 of his last 35 games since May 3 (.327 on-base percentage).
“Happy to contribute to help our team win a baseball game,” Bregman said. “We have maybe three guys playing to their potential, so we’ve got a lot of work to do, and we’ve got to be better. We’re way better of a ball club than we’ve shown, so got to look in the mirror and figure out a way to get it done on the field, and that’s my impression, we’ve got to play better. Today was a good step in the right direction, but win tomorrow and it’s a winning streak.”
Suzuki’s third career grand slam extended his season-high hitting streak to eight games, during which he has posted a .308/.379/.654 slash line with three home runs and seven RBIs. The relief at coming through in that spot Thursday was quickly apparent as Suzuki let out fist pump as he started his trot toward first base.
“I felt like I haven’t been able to help out our pitchers, they’re pitching in tough situations,” Suzuki said through interpreter Edwin Stanberry. “There’s more sort of frustration that I had towards myself, not hitting in those opportunities, and I was finally able to get that hit.”
