Rea deals behind plethora of defensive gems in Cubs' 6th straight win

CHICAGO -- After Cubs manager Craig Counsell took the ball out of Colin Rea’s hand on Monday night, the Wrigley Field faithful collectively rose to their feet and raised the decibel level in the old ballpark. The ovation for the veteran right-hander recognized a great outing, but might as well have been for the way he keeps stepping up for the North Siders.

For two seasons in a row, Rea has moved into the rotation amid injury setbacks for Chicago. And once again, the righty has looked less like a fill-in and more like an arm right at home among the starters with more name recognition. This time, Rea shined with the help of a wave of defensive gems to lead the Cubs to a 5-1 victory over the Phillies.

“All night there were tons of plays being made,” Rea said. “You don’t expect those plays to be made. But you do, at the same time, just with the guys we have all around the diamond. They take a lot of pride in making those plays.”

In guiding Chicago to its sixth consecutive win, the 35-year-old Rea worked into the seventh inning, exiting to the warm reception with two outs and a runner aboard.

Rea watched from the third-base dugout as lefty Hoby Milner induced a sharply hit liner from slugger Kyle Schwarber. The ball hit the dirt and found the glove of diving second baseman Nico Hoerner, who scrambled to his feet and fired to first for the out. The crowd roared and Rea’s pitching line was officially complete.

“The guy’s the best,” Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson said of Hoerner’s diving stop. “Every day, he kind of just does something -- whether it’s defensively, offensively, on the bases -- that just makes you say, ‘This guy is unbelievable.’ Once again, tonight.”

Over 6 2/3 innings, Rea was charged with one run -- courtesy of a double from Justin Crawford that center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong nearly snagged with an all-out diving attempt. Rea struck out five, walked two and scattered six hits in an outing that was helped by his defense at a few turns.

In the first inning, in particular, Chicago’s stellar defense showed off. Schwarber sent a pitch from Rea into foul ground up the left-field line, where Ian Happ tumbled over the side wall while making an impressive catch. One batter later, Hoerner ended the inning with a slick diving stop to collect a 106.4 mph grounder off the bat of Bryce Harper.

“It kind of gets you fired up a little bit, especially to start the game,” Rea said. “You’re so honed in on executing pitches and trying to make really good pitches and not make mistakes. And then you’re kind of like, ‘Oh, we’ve got a defense like this. Just go right after them.’”

The defensive gems continued, too.

Michael Conforto made a lunging catch in right during the second. Michael Busch made a diving grab on a grounder from Bryson Stott in the sixth. In the ninth, Matt Shaw got in on the action, leaving his feet to make a jaw-dropping, diving catch in right on a sinking liner from Trea Turner.

“I had seven plays that were excellent,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “The one play Nico made. The play Matt Shaw made. The play Ian made. I mean, those are just spectacular plays. Just that alone right there, that’s enough. That’s a game-changer right there. And we’re adding four more onto that.”

The Cubs’ offense backed Rea with five early runs against Phillies righty Aaron Nola. Swanson capped off a four-run outburst in the second inning with a three-run homer to center. In the third, Busch singled to left -- sending the baseball over a goose waddling through the outfield -- and later scored via a sacrifice fly by Conforto.

That was sufficient for Rea, who began this season in the bullpen -- similar to a year ago. Last season, the veteran assumed the rotation spot vacated by Justin Steele after he required season-ending elbow surgery. Rea went on to finish second on the Cubs in innings pitched (159 1/3) and spun a 1.17 ERA in three playoff outings.

In an unfortunate twist for the Cubs, Cade Horton was sidelined with an elbow injury earlier this month and needed season-ending surgery. Again, Rea moved into the starting staff, where he now has a home for the Cubs. All Rea has done since Sept. 1 last year has been to post a 2.59 ERA with 55 strikeouts and 12 walks in 59 innings (including the playoffs).

No wonder the crowd rose to its feet.

“That’s a good feeling,” Rea said. “I don’t know the tip-of-the-cap, what that line is. I’m still trying to figure that one out, but I appreciate them giving me that ovation, for sure.”