NEW YORK — Sometimes one swing is all it takes to erase a team’s awful offensive game.
Christopher Morel seized his moment Monday night against New York Mets closer Edwin Díaz. After Mets starter Luis Severino took a no-hitter into the eighth inning, the Cubs rallied to set up Morel’s heroics in the ninth. The Cubs’ third baseman got all of Díaz’s 3-1 elevated fastball with two outs for a no-doubt, go-ahead, two-run home run. Héctor Neris worked around two walks in the ninth to lock down a 3-1 Cubs win.
The Cubs (18-11) had nothing going the first seven innings, with just one ball in play registering an expected average above .270. At one point, as Pete Crow-Armstrong put down a bunt attempt that rolled foul, boos rained down from Mets fans among the 25,046 people in Citi Field.
Taylor Swift’s “Bad Blood” immediately started playing over stadium speakers while Crow-Armstrong headed back into the batter’s box with one out in the sixth before ultimately grounding out on a soft roller to second base. Crow-Armstrong was trying to get something going in a one-run game against Severino, who was on a roll.
The Cubs’ lineup finally broke through in the eighth when Dansby Swanson’s soft liner to center field gave them their first hit following Michael Busch’s leadoff walk. Despite the seven innings of futility that featured just two Cubs base runners — Ian Happ’s walk in the fourth and Mike Tauchman getting hit by a pitch in the seventh — they tied the game at 1 on Nick Madrigal’s pinch-hit fielder’s choice. Madrigal beat the throw to first base to break up a would-be inning-ending double play.
Right-hander Jameson Taillon did his part to give the offense a chance to break out of their funk. A home run by leadoff hitter Brandon Nimmo in the first inning represented the only run Taillon allowed in 7 1/3 innings. Taillon gave up four hits, walked one and struck out one batter, needing just 78 pitches to get into the eighth.
The Cubs were collectively due for an offensive slump yet found a way to get out of it, at least for two innings, to pull out the late win Monday. The victory comes after two tough losses in Boston following Saturday’s 17-0 blowout and being handed a walk-off loss Sunday night at Fenway Park.
“This is the big leagues, nobody’s going to feel sorry for us, nobody’s going to cut us any breaks,” Mike Tauchman said after Sunday’s loss of the injuries the Cubs have battled. “We still have to show up. I think for guys it just is what it is, let’s move on. There’s things you can control and there’s things you can’t.”
Manager Craig Counsell said it best last week when Cody Bellinger landed on the 15-day injured list with two fractured right ribs.
“When you lose Seiya (Suzuki), when you lose Cody, players like that, your offense doesn’t improve — it can’t, right?” Counsell said Wednesday. “In short stretches, certainly anything can happen. Frankly what your goal is in those situations is there’s going to be a little bit of a drop-off, but you hope to minimize it as much as you can.”
The Cubs haven’t been no-hit since July 25, 2015, when Philadelphia Phillies lefty Cole Hamels accomplished the feat at Wrigley Field. The franchise’s streak of avoiding being no-hit on the road extends to Los Angeles Dodgers ace Sandy Koufax’s perfect game on Sept. 9, 1965, at Dodger Stadium.
