Webb takes ownership of latest blown save, is 'tired of letting the team down'

MILWAUKEE – Jacob Webb was waiting at his locker inside the visitors’ clubhouse at American Family Field on Tuesday night. The sting of what just took place on the field remained in the few, blunt words he offered, but the Cubs' reliever was not going to avoid accountability.

Not when this keeps happening.

“I’m tired of letting the team down, to be completely honest,” Webb said.

In Tuesday’s 4-3 loss in 10 innings to the Brewers, Webb allowed a two-run, game-tying homer with two outs in the ninth to Jackson Chourio. The Cubs were moments away from securing a win after a ninth-inning rally – in a game started by National League Cy Young favorite Jacob Misiorowski, no less – but the recent bullpen issues have been hard to shake.

At the moment, the Cubs are a half-game behind the Phillies for the NL’s top Wild Card spot with fewer than three weeks left on the regular-season slate. In that time, it is imperative for Chicago to get some of its key relief arms back in rhythm, or risk that a high-powered offense will be absolutely required to make a deep October run.

“This is how you’ve got to win games in the bullpen,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “You’ve got to get outs. It’s our job. They’re going to do it. … We’ve got [nine] guys down there. They’re the guys we’re going to rely on. We’ve got to figure it out.”

At this point a year ago, as the Cubs closed in on hosting the Wild Card Series against the Padres at Wrigley Field, the North Siders had their late-inning bullpen formula after months of trials. Daniel Palencia was pitching at a high level as the closer, with Brad Keller, Caleb Thielbar, Drew Pomeranz and Andrew Kittredge mixed in based on matchups.

From the start of the season until now, the 2026 Cubs’ bullpen has dealt with a long list of injuries and undergone multiple makeovers.

Three arms signed over the winter to free-agent deals – Phil Maton, Hunter Harvey, and Hoby Milner – had minimal impact on the whole due to health setbacks. Palencia only recently returned after injury issues of his own. The early-season injuries led to Ben Brown moving to the rotation, and then his season also ended due to a neck injury.

Three members of the current bullpen (Javier Assad, Aaron Civale and Colin Rea) are converted starting pitchers. Another reliever, Ryan Zeferjahn, has had mixed results since being acquired at the Trade Deadline. Thielbar has had a rocky year. Relievers like Webb, Ryan Rolison and Trent Thornton represent pitchers who stepped up when problems piled up.

Counsell was asked if it might be time to consider some of the options at Triple-A Iowa, where Edward Cabrera, Shelby Miller and Justin Steele are among the pitchers on the injured list, but in rehab game action. Cabrera is working on moving to a relief role, while Miller and Steele are both working back from longer-term elbow injuries.

“The answers are not there,” Counsell said. “These are our guys. They’re going to get the outs. You go through tough stretches in the season. It hurts when it happens right now. It hurts when it happens right at the end of the game with two outs. It hurts a little bit worse. And it tests you.

“And you have to use the test, and you have to use the hurt, to get you to a better place. And it can. It can. When you get knocked down, you can get back up. That’s an even better feeling.”

In the ninth, Webb retired the first two hitters he faced before issuing a two-out walk to Christian Yelich, who entered as a pinch-hitter. That set things up for Chourio, who drilled an 0-1 changeup from Webb out to left for the game-tying blast. It was the first homer Webb allowed on a changeup since June 10.

“Poor location, man,” Webb said. “That’s purely it.”

It was not that long ago that Webb was dominant out of the bullpen, piecing together a 24-game scoreless streak that stretched across June and August. Then on Aug. 22 in Seattle, the righty allowed a walk-off homer to Randy Arozarena that served as the first domino in a run of tough appearances.

Webb has allowed runs in four of his past six games, surrendering nine runs in 4 2/3 innings in that span. In that same stretch dating back to Aug. 22, the Cubs’ bullpen as a group has put up a 5.40 ERA in 17 games, in which Chicago has gone 10-17.

“I think we’re going to get back on track,” Webb said. “I have confidence in myself. I have confidence in this team, the bullpen, the pitching staff, the hitters. Yeah, I mean, I’m just tired of letting the team down right now.”