PITTSBURGH -- When Cubs catcher Christian Bethancourt stepped to the plate in the ninth inning, everything was riding on his at-bat. Chicago had come back from down 10-3 after five innings, and with two outs in the ninth, the tying run was on third and the go-ahead run was on second.
Pittsburgh intentionally walked Pete Crow-Armstrong to bring up Bethancourt. The 32-year-old backstop told himself, “This is your time to shine.” But someone behind Bethancourt’s position in the on-deck circle had a very different message.
“I had one fan yelling at me really loud, like, ‘You stink!’” Bethancourt said. “So that went through my mind. I was like, ‘You can not stink this time. You’ve got to make him shut up.’
“And that’s what I did.”
Against Pirates closer David Bednar, Bethancourt sealed a comeback of epic proportions with a two-run single that sent the Cubs to a 14-10 victory at PNC Park. And at first base, he found the fan in the crowd, gave him a point and told him, effectively, “that’s for you.”
The last time the Cubs came back from a deficit of at least seven runs was April 11, 2023, when they defeated the Mariners, 14-9. It’s the first time they’ve had such a comeback win in consecutive seasons since 1998-99. Chicago scored 41 runs in the series in Pittsburgh, which is only the fourth time since 1901 that the club has produced that many runs in a series of three games or fewer.
Half of the runs the Cubs scored on Wednesday came from Bethancourt, their No. 9 hitter who was playing just his 11th game as a North Sider.
Bethancourt paced the offense as it began chipping away at the Pirates’ bullpen in the seventh after scoring three runs in five innings off rookie phenom Paul Skenes. Bethancourt hit a two-run homer in the seventh before doubling in a three-run rally in the eighth inning.
Then, in the ninth, Bethancourt -- a former Pirates Minor Leaguer in 2021 -- hit that two-out knock, turning cheers into sighs at the ballpark he never got a chance to play in and producing four more RBIs than he’d ever had in an MLB game before.
“He’s such a good dude, such a good guy,” said Cubs starter Kyle Hendricks. “He works so hard, gives me so much behind the plate, helps me so much. It’s so cool to see him come through in that at-bat. He puts in all the work. He deserves it all.”
Bethancourt’s journey to a moment like this has been long and winding. He played for the Braves and the Padres across 2013-17, including a stint as a pitcher at Triple-A El Paso in ‘17 that went awry. He was a Minor Leaguer in the Brewers’ system in ‘18 before spending time in the Dominican Winter League and KBO across ‘18-21.
After his solid showing at Triple-A Indianapolis with the Pirates in 2021, Bethancourt found his way back to the Majors with Oakland in ‘22 and Tampa Bay from ‘22-23.
This season, the Cubs gave him a chance as a free-agent signing on July 5 after he had a tough short stay with the Marlins.
As a backup to Miguel Amaya, Bethancourt has worked even harder, he said. He took extra reps. He practiced more. He spent extra time preparing and staying ready. He knew how critical this juncture could be for his chance to continue a Major League career.
“I was like, ‘This is probably my last shot, so I have to take the most of it,’” Bethancourt said.
How is Bethancourt faring in what he thought might be his final shot? A .407 batting average (11-for-27) with four doubles, three homers and 15 RBIs.
“I don’t know how you can play better than he’s played,” manager Craig Counsell said. “It’s been sparing at-bats, and every time he’s in there, there are extra-base hits, there are RBIs, throwing out runners. He’s been unbelievable. How can you play better than he’s played since he’s been here?”
And in a curious way, Bethancourt’s journey parallels the attributes it took for the Cubs not only to dig out of their seven-run hole on Wednesday but also to climb from nine games under .500 on July 3 to a 68-66 record, which keeps them within five games of the final National League Wild Card spot.
“He’s just stuck to it. The game hasn’t necessarily handed him all good things, and he’s had to persevere through it,” Counsell said. “He’s come here and kind of knows his job, enjoys what he’s doing, enjoys his role and he does it really well.”