The Chicago Cubs once more discovered themselves holding a lead late towards the Atlanta Braves.

And once more they had been on the unsuitable finish of a significant recreation Wednesday at Truist Park, dropping 6-5 in 10 innings after twice failing to keep up a one-run lead within the ninth and tenth innings.

Marcell Ozuna slugged the tying solo house run off Mark Leiter Jr. with one out within the ninth within the right-handed reliever’s first look in per week. José Cuas cleaned up the site visitors in aid of Leiter, retiring each Braves batters to strand the profitable run in scoring place.

The Cubs reclaimed the lead within the tenth on Ian Happ’s sacrifice fly, however their one-run lead didn’t maintain. Ronald Acuña Jr. tied it with an RBI single, swiped second base for his seventieth stolen base of the yr, and scored on Ozzie Albies’ single off Daniel Palencia to finish it.

“We’ve got to do some little things a little bit better,” supervisor David Ross stated. “Trying to get runners in from third with less than two outs hasn’t been our strength this month. Guys are laying it all out there. Just a really good team. We’ve got to figure out a way to win a baseball game.”

The Cubs (82-76) are tied with the Miami Marlins for the third and ultimate National League wild-card spot getting into Thursday, however they’re basically on the skin of playoff place as a result of Miami owns the tiebreaker. The Cubs flip to Marcus Stroman in Thursday’s sequence ultimate to forestall a sweep in Atlanta.

“We believe in the group, and we’ve got four games left to get this thing done,” Happ stated. “We’re nonetheless tied for the final spot, we’re nonetheless in it. Everybody on this clubhouse believes in that.

“We were 10 games under and really far out of it at one point so to be in this spot isn’t too bad.”

Wednesday’s painful ending marked the Cubs’ fifth loss after main within the eighth inning or later throughout September, tying for his or her most such losses in a month over the franchise’s final 50 seasons (June 1991 and September 1992), according to ESPN Stats & Info.

Since his transfer to the bullpen in mid-August, Drew Smyly steadily earned supervisor David Ross’ belief in high-leverage spots. Ross went to Smyly with two runners on and no one out within the seventh following Nico Hoerner’s throwing error. Hoerner tried to make a backhanded toss to Dansby Swanson at second base, however the excessive throw allowed a run to attain and runners at first and second base to achieve safely to trim the Cubs’ result in 3-2.

“The outs that we left on the field, both tonight and yesterday defensively, obviously those sting,” Hoerner stated. “But as an offense even though we did score some runs tonight those middle innings we felt like as a group we could have put some more up there. But obviously those are both games that can go either way.”

The error sequence ended Jameson Taillon’s ultimate regular-season begin, however Smyly ensured the sport didn’t get away from the Cubs in that scenario. Smyly retired the following three Atlanta hitters — Michael Harris II (floor out), Sean Murphy (strikeout) and Kevin Pillar (come out) — to flee with the Cubs’ one-run lead intact.

Taillon had been on cruise management many of the night time. He held the explosive Braves offense to 2 runs on three hits, together with a house run by Albies that gave Atlanta a first-inning lead. Albies has torched the Cubs all through his seven years in Atlanta. He introduced a .408/.462/.733 profession slash line towards the Cubs into Wednesday’s recreation.

After a dreadful first three months to his Cubs profession, Taillon posted a 3.53 ERA over his ultimate 15 begins (86 2/3 innings).

“I feel like it just took me a little while to settle in here and I was searching for some things on my own delivery-wise and pitch-package-wise and I feel like we got to a point with the pitching department, with the catchers where we all got really comfortable with each other and we went through the mud together and then we made it out on the other side, and we learned a lot about each other,” Taillon stated. “I don’t want to say performance-wise I feel great about it. It is what it is. But I feel like results-wise I’m really happy that we got to (that) place.”

The Cubs caught a break to tie the sport within the second. A ball was clearly fouled off Jeimer Candelario’s bat, however house plate umpire Shane Livensparger missed it and whereas the play was reside Cody Bellinger scored from third. The umpires met to debate it, however the name stood as a handed ball and the run scored. The play couldn’t be reviewed. Braves supervisor Brian Snitker was ejected for arguing the decision.

Home runs by Mike Tauchman, his first since Aug. 8, and Happ within the third inning off Braves starter Darius Vines had initially put the Cubs forward 3-1.

Twelve of their 25 video games in September have been determined by two runs or fewer. That weight has fallen on the bullpen whereas the offense hasn’t offered many blowout alternatives to avoid wasting their high arms, particularly with 14 video games this month towards wild-card contenders. The Cubs know the place their postseason possibilities stand. They not management their very own playoff future.

“Were playing close games, we’re not getting blown out, we’re not completely out of these things,” Happ stated. “Sometimes that’s really hard when you’re in a bunch of them and it doesn’t get done. But we’ve been in all these games, playing really good baseball. A lot of stuff is not going our way. But that doesn’t mean you’re going to stop playing.”

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