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NEW YORK — A comeback win on the road to capture a series is the type of outcome the Chicago Cubs needed to take into the All-Star break.
Cubs players and manager David Ross have said all the right things about keeping their focus on the present with the Aug. 1 trade deadline looming, knowing they need to make a move soon to erase a seven-game deficit behind the first-place Cincinnati Reds and a sub-.500 record (42-47).
Sunday’s 7-4 win over the New York Yankees on the strength of six runs in the final three innings — highlighted by Yan Gomes’ pinch-hit, game-tying, two-run single in the seventh and Seiya Suzuki’s go-ahead sacrifice fly in the eighth — provided good vibes heading into the four-day break.
“You only can control what you can control, and that’s how we play,” catcher Tucker Barnhart said. “You can scoreboard watch all you want, but at the end of the day, if we don’t win, it doesn’t matter. So the best thing we can do is continue to win series and if we (do), we’ll be in a spot where we’ve got a chance.”
The Cubs need more of the lift they got off Suzuki’s bat Sunday for the offense to boast more of a power threat in the second half, which starts with a weekend series against the Boston Red Sox to begin a 10-game homestand.
Suzuki’s solo home run in the fifth got the Cubs on the board and tied the game. It was his first homer since May 23. His sacrifice fly in the eighth also was the type of plate appearance the Cubs haven’t consistently gotten enough of from their right fielder.
Suzuki finished the first half with a .259/.342/.405 slash line, seven home runs, 13 doubles and 28 RBIs in 71 games, with a 0.7 fWAR and 104 weighted runs created plus. When assessing his first-half performance, Suzuki said, “I feel like I could do a lot better.”
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“First half I feel like I was too worried about my swing, and … all my thoughts were being displayed out there,” Suzuki said through interpreter Toy Matsushita. “But this past week, I kind of changed it up and I just wanted to have a competitive at-bat, and the results followed. So I want to make sure I have the same mindset going into the second half.”
If the Cubs are going to chip away at their National League Central deficit and persuade the front office to add to the roster, it likely would continue to rest on the backs of the rotation’s collective performance.
The group’s overall steadiness has benefited from Kyle Hendricks pitching more like the pre-injury version. He allowed four runs in 4 2/3 innings Sunday, with most of the damage coming on back-to-back two-out home runs from Anthony Volpe (two-run) and Kyle Higashioka (solo).
Hendricks understands what is at stake for the Cubs when they start the second half next weekend after watching the front office go into sell mode the previous two years.
“We’re always going to be urgent with our game and going out and playing good baseball and trying to win every day — that’s where our urgency is,” he said. “As far as all the outside stuff and the deadline, I mean, we’re really excited with where we’re at and the opportunity we have in this division, so that’s where our focus is, just to keep winning.
“We have everything in here we need. Whatever they decide, that’s what they do up top. They’re the best for a reason at what they do. They’ll make the right moves and do everything that we need, but we have everything in here that is required to go out there and win.
“We know everybody talks about our division. We’re still close enough where we have a chance. We can’t wait to get a few days off and just mentally take a break, but we’re already excited to get back at it. This was a good way to end it, and it’ll roll right into the second half hopefully.”
