ST. LOUIS -- The Cubs employed a five-man infield with the game on the line on Friday night, positioning four players -- including catcher Willson Contreras -- between first and second base. It hardly mattered to Cardinals leadoff man Matt Carpenter.
With one out and the bases full, Carpenter lifted a pitch from sidearmer Steve Cishek deep into the left-field corner -- far beyond the reach of sprinting center fielder Albert Almora Jr. The ball dropped in for a single in the 10th inning, sending the Cubs to a 2-1 walk-off loss that had the Busch Stadium crowd roaring, while St. Louis' players poured onto the infield.
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Chicago's sixth loss in eight games will be pinned on the bullpen, but it was the lineup's continued struggles with runners in scoring position that really laid the foundation for this defeat.
"We really need to do a better job driving in runs," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. "We wouldn't even be in that position in the end."
Here is a look at Friday's loss through the lens of three plate appearances:
Hicks vs. Bryant
The boos aimed at Kris Bryant by the Busch Stadium crowd grew in intensity throughout his at-bats. He joked that St. Louis was boring back in January, giving some added fuel for Cardinals fans for the Cubs' first trip to town.
When Bryant walked to the batter's box and had his name announced throughout the ballpark in the first inning, his own team got in on the act. At the urging of Anthony Rizzo, a group of Bryant's teammates hoisted thumbs down from the dugout and booed along with the crowd. Even Maddon joined the chorus.
"I don't think I've ever roundly booed one of my own guys before," Maddon said. "So I've checked that off the list."
Bryant got a kick out of the whole scene.
"It was hilarious. Of course, Rizz is behind all that," Bryant said. "They were just having fun with it. It was really fun to see all the guys join in. It was pretty funny."
Of course, Cardinals fans got the last laugh.
Bryant singled in the first inning, but he had two strikeouts and a pair of groundouts the rest of the way. That included a situation in the 10th inning, when the slugger took on fireballer Jordan Hicks with two outs and Daniel Descalso on second base. Hicks went low and away with three sliders, but countered those with up-and-in heat. And, on this night, Hicks topped out at 104.3 mph, marking the fastest pitch of the 2019 MLB season, per Statcast.
Bryant chopped the fifth pitch -- a 101.8-mph fastball that came after an 88.9-mph slider -- to Carpenter at third base for an out. Those boos Bryant heard all game now turned to loud cheers. The out also put the period on an 0-for-8 showing with runners in scoring position for the Cubs, who are 0-for-23 with RISP in their past three games and 3-for-33 in the last five.
"Jordan Hicks is throwing 104," Bryant said. "I would've loved to get a hit off him, but it's tough. ... But, yeah, we've got to do something to turn it around. You just go through these ups and downs. Yeah, it'd be nice if this wasn't something we had to talk about, but we're struggling with it right now and there's no getting around it. We've just got to be better."
Darvish vs. Carpenter
Before Friday's game, Maddon once again offered a pile of superlatives in regard to Yu Darvish's potential.
"If we can cut down on the walks," Maddon said, "if you look at his stuff, wow. He's almost unhittable. You'll see the best pitcher in the National League if we can get to the point where those walks become less."
Darvish then offered an outing that was another example of what Maddon was talking about.
In the first inning, the Cubs starter opened his outing with consecutive walks to Carpenter and Paul DeJong. That eventually turned into a run, but without a hit allowed. Darvish actually held St. Louis to one hit through the first 15 batters he faced. Overall, he walked three, hit one batter and gave up three hits over six innings.
For this performance, which resulted in a no-decision, Darvish leaned heavily on his cutter (40 out of 93 pitches), but continued to show confidence in his array of offerings. The right-hander's two-seamer is one pitch that fits into that category, and it was on display in a key battle with Carpenter in the fifth inning.
"Little by little, each pitch, I start feeling confidence," Darvish said.
With two outs, two runners aboard and the game locked in a 1-1 tie, Darvish showed Carpenter three cut fastballs in the confrontation. The righty also went up and way out of the zone with a four-seamer. On a 3-1 offering, Darvish opted for a front-door two-seamer that started far inside before running back over the edge as Carpenter's legs buckled. It was a picturesque third strike that was punctuated by a fist pump and shout by the pitcher.
"Outstanding. Yu was outstanding once again," Maddon said. "That was some really electric stuff by him all night long. Confidence is beginning to soar and I really believe you're going to see that a lot more often."
Maples vs. Bader
The final pitch to Carpenter ended the game, but Maddon pointed to another offering that he felt helped sway the outcome.
With one out and a runner on second in the 10th, Maddon summoned Dillon Maples from the Cubs' bullpen to face Harrison Bader. Maples worked into a full-count situation and went after Bader with one of his high-spin sliders. The pitch popped into the glove of catcher Victor Caratini for what looked like a critical called strikeout. Instead, home-plate umpire Laz Diaz deemed it a ball, and Maples hunched over in dismay on the mound.
"I just made a close pitch and obviously didn't get the call I wanted," Maples said. "I was a little upset, but you've got to move on."
While Maples did not assign blame anywhere other than the mound, Maddon did not mince words.
"That's the kind of thing that bums me out," Maddon said. "Of course, listen, we were not good offensively, granted. But to have pitches like that taken away in a crucial moment, now my guy's got to go home and feel bad about himself tonight, which I don't like whatsoever. And it wasn't even a borderline pitch. It was a strike.
"That's the kind of stuff you want to see something done about. And I'm still not advocating an electronic strike zone. I'm just advocating, let's go. Let's go. You cannot miss that pitch in that situation."
Maples said his focus was on responding with a strikeout of pinch-hitter Jedd Gyorko, but the right-hander issued a four-pitch walk to load the bases. That is when Maddon called Cishek in to face Carpenter in the game's decisive moment.
Maddon was convinced that the ball-four call in the previous at-bat had a carryover to Maples' approach to the next hitter.
"Of course it did," Maddon said. "Now, it shouldn't, but it did. He's a young pitcher. ... Of course, you saw what happened to follow. If he gets that fellow right there, I think it's a pretty high-percentage chance he gets the next one, too. So, that's it. But we needed to do a better job offensively."