When Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon told relief pitcher Pedro Strop to "go to the beach" on Sunday after a nerve-racking outing in Saturday’s win over the Cardinals, everybody probably had a good laugh and moved on with their lives.
Apparently, Maddon was more serious than people realized.
When players showed up to Wrigley Field for Sunday’s game against the St. Louis Cardinals, they were greeted to this sight in front of Strop’s locker:
Hopefully @pstrop46 enjoys his beach day today!!! �������� #tu sabe pic.twitter.com/lZXr1wx8kC — Justin Grimm (@GrimmReaper_52) September 20, 2015
While the gesture was a bit unexpected (although it is seemingly in Maddon’s wheelhouse to follow through with these kinds of statements), Strop certainly has earned a break. He gave up one hit and struck out two batters against the Cardinals in Friday’s game, but Saturday’s game was an intense effort that nailed down a victory for the Cubs.
The ninth inning started out with Hector Rondon getting ejected from the game after hitting Greg Garcia with a pitch, and things quickly spiraled out of control as Zac Rosscup gave up a two-run home run to Matt Carpenter and back-to-back singles to Tommy Pham and Jason Heyward.
Chicago Baseball
With no outs and runners on first and second, Strop was summoned from the bullpen and had to face Jhonny Peralta as the go-ahead run. He struck out Peralta, induced a sacrifice flyout from Yadier Molina for the second out, and then got Stephen Piscotty to ground out to Addison Russell to end the game and preserve a narrow 5-4 win for the Cubs.
The performance further cemented Strop’s status as a key fixture in the bullpen as the postseason nears, and it has to give the Cubs confidence moving forward that their eighth and ninth innings are largely under control.
