Maddon defends not using his closer
LOS ANGELES — Rome burned for the Cubs while Wade Davis withered in the bullpen.
In a decision that could haunt Joe Maddon all winter, the Cubs manager on Sunday entrusted Game 2 of the NLCS to John Lackey. The erratic Lackey entered with two outs in the ninth and walked Chris Taylor before Justin Turner hit a walk-off three-run homer that gave the Dodgers a 4-1 victory.
Maddon said he was holding his closer Davis for a save situation.
“He had limited pitches,” Maddon said. “It was one inning only and in these circumstances you don’t get him up and then don’t get him in. If we had caught the lead he would have pitched.”
Lackey was on the Cubs’ roster in the NLDS against the Nationals, but did not pitch. He then pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings from the bullpen in the team’s 5-2 loss in Game 1 of the NLCS.
“I’m just betting on his experience right there as much as anything,” Maddon said. “I know that he went out there and tried to make the pitches that he wanted to make. I know the crowd would not affect him, and it didn’t.
“The walk he just kept trying to get Taylor to chase. Once he got to two strikes, and he didn’t chase, to the hitter’s credit. Then I didn’t see the last pitch to Turner, but obviously it was pretty good. But I really thought John would not be affected by the moment.”
The Cubs barely survived the NLDS because of bullpen woes and are now reeling largely because that unit has underperformed against the Dodgers.
Davis was needed for 2 ¹/3 innings in the Cubs’ 9-8 victory over the Nationals in Game 5 of the NLDS. Even with Turner on deck when Lackey entered, the manager did not consider getting Davis ready.
“When you have a guy like that coming off the performance that he had, to warm him up and not use him is equally as bad,” Maddon said. “Warm him up, not put him in the game, and then ask him to pitch maybe two innings later, that’s really not good for him.
“Tonight I was waiting for that opportunity to grab a lead and then throw him out there. That’s what it was all about. There was no way he was pitching more than one [inning] and that was pretty much it.”