PHOENIX — Even using a reliever to pinch-hit didn’t stop the Diamondbacks’ onslaught in the eighth inning that buried the Cubs in a 10-6 loss Sunday.
And as right-hander Ryne Nelson chopped an RBI single up the middle to increase Arizona’s lead to two, the inning raised concerns that had been brewing.
“This is our group, and we’ve certainly got to be a little better than that, and expect it, and we will,” manager Craig Counsell said of the bullpen. “Today wasn’t a good day.”
All 10 of the D-backs’ runs came against relievers after starter Matt Boyd threw five scoreless innings. Nate Pearson was charged with two runs, Caleb Thielbar with two and Eli Morgan with six.
Even before Sunday, however, the bullpen had been having its wobbles.
The Cubs have been happy with veteran closer Ryan Pressly’s progress cleaning up mechanical issues from last season, but it’s still a work in progress. He navigated those factors to pick up his first save as a Cub on Saturday despite giving up a two-run home run to Eugenio Suarez.
Brad Keller allowed two runs in his lone appearance. In three appearances, Pearson has yet to have a scoreless outing.
Julian Merryweather, who has experience in high-leverage situations but is coming off a shaky, injury-riddled 2024 season, wasn’t available Sunday, Counsell said. The Cubs had Merryweather warm up twice the first game of the series and twice Friday. He hadn’t recovered but wasn’t injured, Counsell said.
“We’ve got a great group of guys down there,” Boyd said of the bullpen after his season debut. “We’ve got a great pitching staff, and we know what we can do.”
Regardless, the bullpen — which underwent the most reconstruction of the Cubs’ position groups this winter — has presented itself as the biggest area of concern through six games. That eight-run eighth drove home the point.
It started with back-to-back walks from Thielbar, who had gotten the last two outs of the previous inning without incident. Morgan, who had thrown three scoreless innings in his previous two appearances, replaced him and ran into trouble almost immediately.
After getting a flyout, he surrendered four consecutive hits: a two-run double to Geraldo Perdomo, a two-run home run to Lourdes Gurriel Jr., a single to Gabriel Moreno and a go-ahead RBI double to Josh Naylor.
“I feel like the pitches felt good out of my hand,” Morgan said. “So it’s just more command, seeing where they end up, not the stuff.”
With a base open, the Cubs had Morgan intentionally walk Suarez to get to the pitcher’s spot in the order. The D-backs already had forfeited the DH. And having exhausted their bench, they called on Nelson, who’d had 176 at-bats at the University of Oregon but no professional plate appearances.
He showed bunt early. And Naylor and Suarez executed a double steal to reach second and third. Then on a 2-1 count, with the infield in, Nelson found a hole.
Naylor made it home, but center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong nabbed Suarez at the plate. Morgan allowed one more RBI single, to Alek Thomas, before Colin Rea relieved him. And after giving up an RBI double to Corbin Carroll, he mercifully got an inning-ending groundout.