The applause was loud when the Arizona National Guard’s 152nd Fighter Squadron flew over Wrigley Field during the national anthem Friday afternoon.
It grew when the pilots were shown on the video board at their seats later in the series opener between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Chicago Cubs.
They further echoed when Nico Hoerner became the first baserunner to reach — for either team — with a fifth-inning single. Then the cheers crescendoed for Seiya Suzuki’s three-run home run in the sixth inning.
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But arguably the loudest ovation from the 40,374 fans during Friday’s 3-0 win for the Cubs at Wrigley Field came when starter Clay Holmes walked off the mound with two outs in the seventh inning, ending a stellar home debut for the newest starter acquired at the trade deadline this month.
Holmes tossed 6 2/3 scoreless innings, retiring the first 16 hitters he faced, and put on a prime showcase of why the Cubs coveted him as he recovered from a fractured fibula with the New York Mets. He outdueled Cardinals left-hander Matthew Liberatore, who retired the first 13 hitters he faced before Hoerner’s base hit and scattered two runs in 5 1/3 innings.
“Going out and being able to give a performance like that for the team and for the fans, it just feels good because you feel the passion they have here and you just feel like they love baseball and they love winning baseball,” Holmes said after the win. “So it’s just fun to be a part of that and, yeah, it was definitely a warm welcome to Wrigley.”
The 33-year-old thrived by relying on his sinker, throwing the pitch 55% of the time Friday, forcing the Cardinals to put the ball in play and allowing his defense to convert those batted balls into outs. Seventeen of the 20 outs Holmes recorded came from balls in play, and 11 of those were groundouts.
“As a sinker-ball pitcher, that’s what the game looks like when they’re having their day, right?” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said after the game. “You saw the ground balls, the contact, but it’s weak contact, a lot. He pitched wonderfully.”
Holmes had posted a 2.39 ERA in nine starts with the Mets before his injury, and the Cubs figured he’d be a fit in front of a defense that leads the baseball in Defensive Runs Saved (82), Outs Above Average (58) and Fielding Run Value (62).
Friday’s outing looked more like the pitcher the Cubs thought they were acquiring. Holmes allowed four runs on six hits and two walks in four innings on Aug. 8 in a loss to the Royals, his first big-league game since May 15. Eight of his 15 balls in play that day were hard-hit (95 mph or faster). The ball was in play on Friday, but six of his 18 batted balls were hard hit.
That made Holmes feel more like himself.
“When I feel like I’m where I need to be, it does (feel natural),” Holmes said. “It feels like getting the ball on the ground becomes natural. And I feel like that’s where I was at today.”
He kept the Cubs in the game and allowed the offense to find its footing against Liberatore and the Cardinals bullpen. The Cubs offense showed signs of a lineup potentially entering a slump, just a day after mustering one hit in a loss to the Nationals.
But Tyrone Taylor led off the sixth inning with a walk, stole second and advanced to third on Dansby Swanson’s single. Two batters later, Seiya Suzuki unloaded a three-run home run to left field that was the difference.
“The (Taylor) stolen base was a huge play,” Counsell said. “Dansby put us in a good situation and then that got (Liberatore) out of the game and Seiya got … a changeup and took a great swing.”
Holmes’ bounce-back outing gives Counsell and the Cubs a nice problem to have. Just a couple of months ago, the team was piecing together its pitching staff. Now, with Holmes, Kevin Gausman and David Peterson in the rotation following trades, Counsell has decisions to make.
Counsell said before Friday’s game that Edward Cabrera will start Sunday’s series finale. Ben Brown, who was the Cubs ace earlier in the season, threw a bullpen session Friday morning and could be back within a month or so. But even he knows his earlier success doesn’t mean anything down the stretch.
“This is a really talented team,” Brown said before the game. “There’s not a lot of spots available on this team. I’ve got to go out there and pitch well to earn an opportunity in September and in the playoffs. Priority one is being healthy, priority two is earning a spot, wherever that may be.”
Regardless of how the pitching staff might shake out, though, the Cubs keep collecting wins — they improved to 10-3 in August — and will look to win their sixth series in their last seven sets of three games or more.
“I think we’re playing with a lot of confidence for sure,” Counsell said. “And I think this team believes it’s a good team.”
Andy Martinez is a freelance reporter for the baiduhai.