When left-hander David Peterson joined the Cubs after a trade with the Mets on June 25, the move wasn’t expected to change the path of the pennant race or give his new team an ace.
Edward Cabrera and Ben Brown had just landed on the injured list, joining Justin Steele, Cade Horton and Jameson Taillon. The Cubs just wanted somebody who was healthy.
Peterson, who had a 6.09 ERA in 68 innings with the Mets, qualified. He was available, not terribly expensive to get and experienced.
“We were wondering who was going to start a game for us,” manager Craig Counsell said. “That’s where we were at.”
Peterson has done more than just stabilize the rotation and eat innings. He has been a key part of the staff, which he demonstrated again in the Cubs’ 5-2 victory Saturday against the Yankees.
Peterson went 6„ innings, giving up two runs (one earned) and matching a season high with eight strikeouts. He has a 1.52 ERA in his last four outings and has completed at least five innings while allowing two or fewer runs in five of his six Cubs starts.
As for what Peterson has changed since joining the Cubs, he said there’s “nothing huge or new.” Instead, it was restoring old patterns and using his lower body more efficiently to take stress off his arm, which allows better command and pitch shapes.
“That’s kind of the biggest thing, and then just kind of tweaking things as we go and finding spots we can get better,” Peterson said.
In the clutch
Despite Peterson’s work, the Cubs trailed 2-1 in the bottom of the seventh. Nico Hoerner changed that with a leadoff home run that survived the brisk wind blowing in.
With two outs, Pedro Ramirez pinch-hit for James Triantos and worked a walk, keeping the inning alive for Pete Crow-Armstrong. Facing lefty Brent Headrick, Crow-Armstrong pulled a slider into the right-field corner for a triple that brought in Ramirez and put the Cubs ahead.
“I know it’s spring training, but [Ramirez] definitely made a big impression in spring, just with how he carried himself,” Hoerner said. “He’s humble but confident and enjoys the game, has a good sense of humor. He’s going to have a really great career, so he’s been huge for us.”
Seiya Suzuki completed the Cubs’ seventh-inning rally with another run-scoring single, though he was called out when he overslid second and was tagged.
“That was a stretch of some really good at-bats that inning,” Counsell said.
Cabrera’s rehab
Cabrera (strained left hamstring) made the first start of his rehab assignment Friday for Triple-A Iowa. He pitched 1‰ innings and gave up three runs, but more important than his numbers, Cabrera came through the outing healthy, throwing 43 pitches and topping out at 98.8 mph.
“We’ll move to the next step [and] increase the pitches,” Counsell said. “He kind of showed he hadn’t been out there for a month, but that’s expected and normal. Just keep building from here.”
Cabrera’s next start for Iowa will be Wednesday, and he’s expected to need another after that before rejoining the Cubs.