The Cubs were stoked to see Justin Turner come home at the end of his home-run trot in the ninth inning Sunday, ready to celebrate a pinch-hit long ball that launched them to an exhilarating 5-3 victory against the Orioles.
But one teammate was more excited than the rest.
Daniel Palencia, who has been fantastic as the Cubs’ closer, went from heartbreak to ecstasy, joyously screaming in Turner’s face before wrapping him in a bear hug and lifting him off the ground, his way of saying thank you for picking him up after a blown save in the top of the inning.
‘‘He didn’t have to say anything,’’ Turner said with a smile. ‘‘He’s been so good for us all year long. I’ll take the ball in his hands with a lead in the ninth inning any day of the week. I’m happy to be able to pick him up. He’s going to be big for us down the stretch.’’
Indeed, it was a day of rarities at Wrigley Field.
Palencia hadn’t allowed an earned run since late June, snapping a streak of 12 consecutive scoreless outings. And even though they finished with five runs, the Cubs continued their low scoring since the All-Star break, with only nine runs in the weekend series against the Orioles. Struggling right fielder Kyle Tucker even laid down a sacrifice bunt in the first.
But the way in which Turner delivered his heroics was the ultimate in atypical — at least for him. It was the first regular-season walk-off homer of the 40-year-old’s 17-season major-league career.
Turner’s seasonlong numbers haven’t been impressive; he’s hitting only .217 with three homers. But in a minimized on-field role few competitors dream of having, he has found himself invaluable for what he has contributed behind the scenes.
‘‘For a guy that has handled everything this year so gracefully and been a part of this team in so many ways other than just on the field, it’s so cool to be able to celebrate a moment like that with him,’’ shortstop Dansby Swanson said. ‘‘It starts with team dinners, getting guys organized, finding places for everyone to go together, having fun on bus rides, being the center of getting the group together.
‘‘Everyone knows about his role with our offense, how he’s able to get guys clicking again. Whether it’s being able to help coaches come up with game plans or helping guys walk through at-bats, hitting with guys, there’s so many things that he’s doing to make us better, and we’re all grateful for it.’’
This almost didn’t happen, it sounds like. Without some convincing, there might be no Turner helping to guide a Cubs team with World Series expectations.
‘‘I wanted to go somewhere and have a chance to win,’’ Turner said. ‘‘To be honest, it took some convincing from me to even come here because [manager] Craig [Counsell] was like: ‘We don’t have a lot of at-bats for you. Your role is going to be on the bench.’
‘‘I told him: ‘I’ll do whatever it is that you guys need me to do. . . . I want to win a championship.’ So I wanted to come here bad, and I’m glad it worked out, glad I got that chance today.’’
Might there be a bigger celebration in October? Turner has been part of those, too.
With the Cubs still looking up at the Brewers in the National League Central, he knows they’ve got work to do to bring a party back to Grant Park.
‘‘It’s so easy to get caught up in looking ahead and scoreboard-watching,’’ Turner said. ‘‘The important part in this stretch of the season is to make sure we’re focused on one game at a time and what we can control.
‘‘Watching the scoreboard [and] seeing what other teams are doing isn’t going to help us. We’ve got to take care of the stuff that we can take care of, and at the end of the year we’ll be in a good spot.’’