WASHINGTON — Ask around, and you’ll find out that Jacob Webb has been a lot of things.
“He’s been nails, for sure.”
“He’s been awesome.”
“The guy’s been a dog all year.”
The right-hander has also been a savior in the Cubs’ bullpen, stepping into the closer’s role unexpectedly with righty Daniel Palencia limited by injuries to just a handful of appearances this season.
Webb hasn’t racked up a huge number of saves, though his eight lead the team. But he’s delivered again and again, called on in games’ biggest moments to record the most important outs, whether they’ve come in the ninth inning or not.
He’s the closer, yes. But in Craig Counsell’s world of out-getters, he’s more accurately described as the Cubs’ go-to reliever.
And he’s thrived.
“You can see his demeanor on the mound,” lefty Ryan Rolison said. “He’s very laid back until his name’s called, and then it’s go time. You can see it in his eyes where he’s out there giving everything he’s got every single night.”
Webb, who came to the Cubs as a free-agent after three very solid seasons with the Angels, Orioles and Rangers, posting a 3.22 ERA. In 53 appearances this season, his ERA is 2.38. He entered Wednesday on a streak of 20 consecutive scoreless outings.
With the team still trying to emerge from an avalanche of midseason pitching injuries — Palencia, for example, is still working back, struggling in recent minor league rehab appearances — Webb has been an anchor, a steadying force.
Or, as one teammate put it:
“The guy’s been a dog all year,” fellow righty Trent Thornton said. “He takes the ball whenever his name’s called. He’s prepared. Everyone has the utmost confidence in him when he’s on the mound.
“He’s been given a great opportunity to step in and be the closer, and he’s taken the ball and ran with it. He’s got one of the most devastating changeups to watch. It’s, honestly, a sexy pitch.
“Just a dog. He’s a dog. That’s the best way to describe him.”
Webb, of course, isn’t the only bullpen arm the Cubs have asked to shoulder an unexpectedly larger role amid so many injuries this summer, and he hasn’t been the only one to succeed.
It’s been a rewarding thing for his teammates who have stepped up in similarly big ways to see Webb take over the highest profile job in the relief corps and do it so well.
“It’s unbelievable,” Rolison said. “With some injuries and roles not being established early, guys going down and us having to step up into some bigger roles, to see him in that closing role? Anytime anything goes wrong we’re going to him. It’s been unbelievable to watch, just the consistency of it.
“Doing what he’s doing is really special right now.”
Playoff baseball brings all sorts of unexpected twists to the pitching puzzle, so we’ll see how Counsell opts to deploy his go-to reliever when the lights get their brightest in October.
But consider Webb battle-tested, according to his manager, seeing every type of hitter, including some of the best in the sport, and walking away the victor.
In back-to-back outings against the Dodgers last week, he worked through the heart of the order against baseball’s juggernaut, retiring the likes of Freddie Freeman, Max Muncy, Kyle Tucker and Mookie Betts to lock down Cubs wins during a three-game sweep.
A week later, in the first game of a series against the Nationals on Tuesday, Webb got All-Star shortstop CJ Abrams to end the game as the potential tying run, polishing off a four-out save.
“The string of success he’s had, you have to do it against all the hitters,” Counsell said. “Sometimes, you get in the bullpen, you get in a run where you’re just facing the right guys, maybe.
“But you look at a night like last night, you’ve got to finish the game against Abrams. You’ve got to really earn it. You’ve got to get four outs, you’re really earning that stuff. That’s what I think Webby has shown.
“The matchup doesn’t matter, the situation doesn’t matter, he’s done it in every circumstance. And that’s what impresses you as much as anything.”
