PHOENIX — Cubs pitching coach Tommy Hottovy liked what he saw when he strode out to the mound in the ninth inning Saturday for a visit with Ryan Pressly three straight hits into a save opportunity.
Eugenio Suarez’s two-run homer had cut the Cubs’ lead over the Diamondbacks to one. And now Pressly had another runner on after a seven-pitch battle with Gabriel Moreno resulted in a line-drive single to right field.
“Going to the mound in that situation, seeing his confidence, it was awesome,” Hottovy told the Sun-Times.
That story had a happy ending for Pressly — a save and a 4-3 Cubs win — but the bullpen has work to do. Even before blowing a four-run lead in spectacular fashion in a 10-6 loss Sunday, it had a middling 5.03 ERA, which put it 18th in the majors. Then the Diamondbacks scored eight runs in the eighth inning of that game against three relievers.
Some of the issues are magnified by the time of year and a disjointed buildup because of the Tokyo Series that opened the season before spring training had ended. Entering Monday, manager Craig Counsell had avoided calling on any reliever to pitch back-to-back days as the Cubs resumed their season stateside with seven consecutive games.
Solidifying the back end of the bullpen rotation would help the rest fall in line. That starts with Pressly, the new veteran closer. So Counsell will continue to call on him at the end of games with the long view in mind.
Although Pressly hasn’t had a dominant start to the year, allowing three runs in his first three outings, the Cubs are encouraged.
“He came into the spring with some pointed things he wanted to work on mechanically,” Hottovy said. “Some of those just take time. It comes and goes, just like every other guy. So there’s days where he feels really good, and then those days where he feels a little out of sync. And I actually think stuff-wise, [Saturday] was about as good from a mechanic standpoint [as he has been].”
According to Statcast, Pressly’s average fastball velocity jumped by almost 2 mph from his first appearance stateside to his outing Saturday. He has focused on keeping his front side strong and refining his posture.
“The adjustments he’s making were better,” Hottovy said. “He just didn’t get the results. And he said after the game, it just sucks when you know you feel good and the results don’t come. . . . [But] I think he’ll take something from [Saturday] for the positive.”
Hottovy certainly has. Of Pressly’s six pitches to the first two batters he faced Saturday, only one was a ball.
“Suarez is living in a tree right now and hit a homer,” Hottovy said of the slugger who launched four long balls in the Diamondbacks’ opening series. “Other than that, [Pressly] was really freaking good, you know? And so, yeah, he gave up two quick runs. But I’ve seen so many people implode in those moments.”
Pressly did the opposite, getting two quick outs, issuing a walk and then inducing soft contact to set up shortstop Dansby Swanson for a trick play to end the game.
“Just don’t panic,” Pressly said afterward. “Just try to keep it calm, make your pitches. . . . It wasn’t the cleanest inning, but a win’s a win, and we got the job done.”
Putting the final touches on his mechanics should help him do that more consistently — and with less nail-biting for Cubs fans. But most days, the save will be more important than how Pressly achieved it.
