ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Cody Bellinger did not want a repeat of his previous at-bat.
Bellinger squandered runners on first and third base in the fifth inning Wednesday night at Tropicana Field, striking out on four pitches to end the frame with the Chicago Cubs trailing the Tampa Bay Rays by one run. So when he stepped to the plate in the seventh, again with two outs and two on base, Bellinger was determined to take advantage of the moment.
Bellinger got all of lefty Garrett Cleavinger’s 1-2 cutter down in the zone, turning on it for a go-ahead, three-run home run to right field. Tyson Miller and Drew Smyly combined for 3 1/3 scoreless innings and Héctor Neris bounced back from surrendering a walk-off home run the night before to secure the 4-3 victory.
“Three-run homers change games, and that swing certainly changed the game,” manager Craig Counsell said. “It was a big swing at a time we needed that held up.”
The Cubs have been stung during this rough offensive stretch with hard-hit balls finding leather or dying at the warning track. Seiya Suzuki was finally on the right side of luck, tying the game in the fourth on his home run to center field. Right-hander Javier Assad allowed two runs and five hits in 4 2/3 innings.
“It definitely felt amazing,” Bellinger said of his home run. “I was just frustrated with my previous at-bat and got another opportunity … really just kind of just locked in and tried to get the job done.
“Definitely relieves the pressure. We’ve hit a lot of balls hard right at people and it’s kind of how it goes when things aren’t going your way and to have a big one right there go over the fence feels really good.”
Neris had an adventurous ninth inning en route to his 10th save. He gave up a one-out solo home run and had runners on second and third when Brandon Lowe, the Rays’ walk-off hero Tuesday, was up with two outs. This time Neris bested Lowe, forcing him to fly out to end the game.
Wednesday’s victory represented their 27th one-run game (13-14) on a night the Cubs’ batting order featured a noticeably different look at the top.
Third baseman Christopher Morel hit leadoff for the first time this season with Michael Busch slotting into the No. 2 spot, the highest he’s batted this year. Counsell lined up Bellinger and Suzuki in the Nos. 3 and 4 positions in the order while Ian Happ batted fifth.
It appeared to work for the night as the Cubs (33-35) defeated the Rays.
The revamped batting order quickly put pressure on Rays starter Aaron Civale, loading the bases in the first inning behind Busch’s one-out single, Suzuki’s two-out single and Ian Happ’s four-pitch walk. Their struggles with runners in scoring position remained as Nico Hoerner grounded out to end the inning.
“Really just seeing how all that rolls,” Counsell said of the lineup changes. “(Morel’s) been as good as anyone and for us, the ball-strike and getting on base and creating walks and making good swing decisions. It’s been a step forward, I think we’ve all seen that. It just puts that threat right at the start of the lineup and at the start of the game of a guy that can hurt you and then also get on base.”
Suzuki hit a solo home run in the fourth inning off Civale to tie the game at 1. He went 2-for-4 while Busch went 2-for-3 in the new order.
“Look, we’re playing the same guys, everybody’s going to hit four times, but yeah it’s a little bit guys are walking up (to the plate) at different times,” Counsell said. “You’re trying to put guys in spots to succeed that makes sense and maybe gives some guys a different look.
“We try to make decisions that have reasons behind them, a process behind them. Sometimes they don’t work, and I don’t have an explanation. But really it’s because it’s competition, the other side is trying to beat you and that’s part of it.”
Hoerner was back in the starting lineup for the first time since last Thursday when he sustained a fracture in his right hand. The Cubs will continue to monitor his hand as the days progress. Counsell expects to get feedback Thursday on how Hoerner feels after swinging a bat in game action Wednesday for the first time since the injury occurred. Doctors previously told Hoerner and the team that he is not expected to worsen the fracture by playing, but he might have to manage pain.
“I don’t know what to expect really,” Counsell said. “It could be nothing, could be something. We’re going to have to see what’s going on.
“He does dive a lot, we see that so he hasn’t had any problems doing that. Sometimes you can feel that stuff just in everyday life, getting out of bed or whatever, really there’s been nothing he’s mentioned.”
