MIAMI – Between the eighth and ninth innings of Chicago’s 6-5 win over the Marlins on Saturday, reliever Ryan Zeferjahn kept getting up and moving around in the visiting dugout at loanDepot park to keep himself warm. That is what allowed him to control the adrenaline and record his first save as a Cub.
“I try to stay calm and under control, and work my game,” Zeferjahn said. “I got the best defense behind me, and I let them work, and it came up huge.”
He recorded five outs after both bullpens struggled to put up zeros in the game.
“He had a great outing,” manager Craig Counsell said. “That's a tough outing and that's a big-time performance. Those are tough ones to get, and he bailed us out tonight.”
The Cubs hold a half-game lead over Philadelphia for the top NL Wild Card spot.
Here are three takeaways from Saturday’s win:
1. Zeferjahn comes through in big spot
Zeferjahn came on in relief in the eighth with one out and Esteury Ruiz on second. He completed 1 2/3 innings on 19 pitches, striking out one and giving up a walk.
“We need him to be successful,” Counsell said. “He's had a couple outings that didn't go his way. He's bounced back really good. The last couple I think have been very good, and he showed us tonight what he's capable of.”
After the Angels traded the right-hander to the Cubs, things had not gone his way, as he posted a 7.20 ERA in 10 innings pitched over his first 11 appearances. But his process was still there.
“Everything was working, just sometimes results weren't there,” Zeferjahn said. “So we stayed on course with that and we're gonna keep doing that. Keep hammering that home and hopefully stay on this roll.”
Part of that is continuing to let his defense work behind him and not chasing strikeouts. That strategy was effective in the ninth when he recorded a first-pitch out to begin the half inning. To him, that was the best way to start it off.
The outing was also important for him because the Cubs’ bullpen has been a trouble area of late, with seven relievers on the injured list this season.
“We're the hungriest,” Zeferjahn said. “Everyone's gonna pick each other up. … I picked them up tonight, and I think everyone down there just knows that we're a close group, and that when you don't have it, someone's gonna have to come in there and pick you up. Then we're gonna keep rolling. So that's gonna make us good and have a good run at this.”
2. Cubs reach 200 home runs
The Cubs became the first team in 2026 to hit 200 home runs. They finished with 223 last season after hitting 170 in 2024.
Pete Crow-Armstrong (39), Alex Bregman (24) and Seiya Suzuki (24) lead the way.
Michael Conforto helped the Cubs reach the 200-homer mark with his 14th home run of the year. Leading off the third inning, Conforto took a 94.4 mph four-seamer off Ryan Gusto a Statcast-projected 411 feet to center field. The Cubs have hit 36 homers over their last 15 games.
“That's a big part of [this] park, when you're playing here, you don't expect to see balls go out there,” said Counsell of Conforto, who finished 2-for-3. “But he obviously put a charge into that one, and playing with the lead is always important and always helpful. And Michael's been doing a heck of a job.”
3. Assad’s walks add up
After Javier Assad pitched 4 2/3 innings, allowing three runs on three hits while striking out three and walking five, he had set a new season-high in free passes.
“I thought Javier's stuff was excellent,” Counsell said. “The walks were just a little bit too much. That ran the pitch count up pretty good and that was a little uncharacteristic, especially this year. He's been very good with throwing strikes. That's as a kind of indicator of how many hits they had. I thought that part was good.”
Assad said he wasn’t very fine, as he is accustomed to, but he kept battling in every pitch and against every batter. What he liked the most was that after he came out of the game, he was able to leave his team with the lead.
“Giving up walks is the last thing I want to do with the great infield that I have,” Assad said in Spanish. “It is part of the game. Sometimes it’s going to happen. It hasn’t happened to me this year, but I had to find ways to fight.”