The Cubs pride themselves on their defense and baserunning. Plus, they’ve spent the first month of the season hitting the snot out of the ball.
But going 0-for-3 on that front is a tough way to win a ballgame.
After knocking around Diamondbacks pitching for two days, the Cubs’ offense — which entered the day as the highest-scoring group in MLB — went quiet, and there was no sweep to be had, thanks to a 3-2, 11-inning loss Sunday.
Three of the first four Cubs batters reached against D-backs starter Merrill Kelly in a bottom of the first inning interrupted by an hourlong rain delay. Michael Busch, the first batter after play resumed, hit an RBI single. It was the Cubs’ last hit until the eighth, with the next 17 batters going down in order.
The Cubs mustered only four hits on the day. But that wasn’t the only facet in which they looked uncharacteristically shaky, given their early-season success.
Second baseman Nico Hoerner dropped a throw from reliever Jordan Wicks in the top of the 10th, turning a sacrifice-bunt attempt into a run-scoring error.
‘‘It’s a 50-mile-an-hour throw,’’ Hoerner said after the game. ‘‘I should catch the ball.’’
Hoerner managed to find instant redemption with a tying single to start the bottom of the 10th. But after the D-backs cashed in another free runner in the 11th, the Cubs couldn’t match, with free runner Jon Berti doubled off second base on Ian Happ’s screaming liner right at the shortstop.
‘‘We made a mistake there,’’ manager Craig Counsell said. ‘‘We made a couple of other execution mistakes. We didn’t get a bunt down.
‘‘We also got four hits in 11 innings.’’
Every lineup, no matter how strong, is going to have days like that. The mistakes in the field and on the bases are almost surely gnawing at the Cubs more than an off-day at the plate.
There goes Naylor
Perhaps no moment from the game will stick in the memory more than the D-backs’ Josh Naylor scampering down the third-base line on an attempted straight steal of home against Wicks to end the top of the 11th.
Naylor, not exactly known for his speed, tried to catch Wicks off-guard and extend his team’s lead in a one-run game. But Wicks threw home in time, with catcher Carson Kelly applying the tag for the out on a close-enough play that the D-backs challenged the call. The video review confirmed the call on the field.
While it might have been a head-scratching move to those watching, the Cubs weren’t quite as surprised.
‘‘He’s on our report for being a guy who will take a bag if you don’t pay attention,’’ starting pitcher Jameson Taillon said after the game. ‘‘Maybe not home, but he’s definitely a guy who will be opportunistic with running. He can feel when guys aren’t paying attention to him, and he will try to go. We are aware of that.
‘‘That was kind of close.’’
It was the second time in the game Naylor was thrown out at home, following his unsuccessful attempt to score from third on a grounder in the fourth.
Rehab outings update
Weather conditions postponed Triple-A Iowa’s game Sunday, delaying starting pitcher Javier Assad’s scheduled rehab start, which was pushed to Tuesday, Counsell said.
Counsell also said rehabbing reliever Tyson Miller, who pitched 1„ innings Saturday, is scheduled to pitch on consecutive days sometime in the middle of the week.