CINCINNATI — The Cubs will have a lot going on this week, the final one of the regular season. Most important is their pursuit of home-field advantage for a National League wild-card series, which is very much unsettled.
Not far behind is putting together their bullpen for the playoffs. That was on manager Craig Counsell’s mind after Cubs relievers pitched four scoreless innings to seal a 5-2 victory Saturday against the Reds.
‘‘I really believe, through this last week of the season, we’ve got to find out about our bullpen,’’ Counsell said after the game. ‘‘We’ve got to find out about guys down there. And this was a good step in that direction.’’
In fact, Counsell has been thinking about the Cubs’ potential postseason pitching staff for more than a week. The series against the Reds ended a stretch of three series Counsell treated as playoff series, with the help of two days off.
‘‘I told the relievers that going into this; the starters, the same thing,’’ Counsell said Sunday. ‘‘We’re going to use them like we would use them in a playoff situation. I’ve had guys up more if they haven’t been in a game. You can afford to do that when you get to this point in the year.’’
Daniel Palencia figures to be a crucial piece to that puzzle after his dominant outing Saturday, when he threw two perfect innings and struck out three, reaching 100 mph several times. After battling through oblique and elbow injuries, Palencia said he feels like himself again.
‘‘I feel great; I’ve been feeling a lot of confidence,’’ Palencia said. ‘‘I wasn’t trying to throw hard, and when I saw the [velocity], I was like, ‘OK, I’m feeling good.’ ’’
Palencia pitched the sixth and seventh innings, which is in line with where he pitched last season in the playoffs, despite earning 22 saves during the regular season. He mostly pitched in the fifth and sixth in the postseason and performed well.
‘‘I’m ready for anything,’’ he said. ‘‘I don’t care if it’s the ninth inning or the fifth; I just want to help the team.’’
Ryan Zeferjahn knew exactly how he would be used Saturday. He entered with two outs in the eighth to face Reds star Sal Stewart, whom he struck out. Although he retired two batters in the ninth, the last out went to left-hander Ryan Rolison.
‘‘That’s how we’ve treated these last three series,’’ Zeferjahn said. ‘‘It’s like you get that one-out save or you have pockets. We don’t have roles. When your pocket comes up, you’re ready to go, and it’s all game.’’
‘‘Knowing how we’re going to use guys is important,’’ Counsell said. ‘‘We went through a stretch where we had some guys struggling, so some things have changed in who we were using and when we were using them. And getting those guys out there as much as we can this last week to get them on track is something that we’re going to try to do.’’