On Saturday, the Chicago Cubs played two seven-inning doubleheaders against the division rival Cincinnati Reds. Yu Darvish shined in the first game, pitching six scoreless innings on his way to the win. The second game was where things got dicey.
After five straight outings where Kimbrel allowed no runs and no hits, manager David Ross gave Craig Kimbrel the ball in the seventh inning (which was essentially the ninth inning) to close out the game. Kimbrel walked three batters (one intentionally), blew the save, and took the loss after allowing Nick Castellanos to score on a wild pitch to end the game. After splitting the doubleheader, the Cubs are 19-14, but remain 3.5 games ahead of the Milwaukee Brewers and the St Louis Cardinals for first place in the NL Central.
With the loss Saturday night, Kimbrel falls to 0-1, with an atrocious 10.13 ERA, an equally terrible 2.375 WHIP, and 13.5 walks per nine innings. Even with the progress he’s made recently, it’s hard to believe you can trust that guy to close out a one run game on the road in one of the most hitter-friendly ballparks in baseball. Craig Kimbrel pitched terribly, his command was erratic yet again and he couldn’t get the big outs.
David Ross seems to be trying to boost Kimbrel’s confidence by turning to him in the big moment. After the game, Ross had this to say to ESPN’s Jesse Rogers:
Ross refusing to turn his back on the once-great closer is admirable, especially considering the pair used to play together as Atlanta Braves, but in a 60-game season, the Cubs can ill afford to lose games like this. Kimbrel is not the hall of fame caliber, lockdown ninth inning guy that he used to be. He’s struggled to locate his pitches and he’s either been hit hard or missing bad and allowing walks. Kimbrel may still be able to turn it around and make an impact, but that was neither the time nor the place, and it proved costly.
So what’s next for Kimbrel? It really boils down to the most important thing about pitching: throwing strikes. If he can get better control of his pitches, he’ll be able to cut down the walks and limit the hard contact from balls that see too much of the heart of the plate. Cleary, it’s easier said than done. Pitchers don’t always age gracefully, and relievers historically have shown to be even more volatile over time. Kimbrel is dealing with a decline in skill, and he may still be able to adjust and help win games, but for now that needs to be in mid-relief.
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