The Chicago Cubs could not ask for a better gift than a healthy Dansby Swanson for the playoffs.
Swanson came off the injured list on Friday after being sidelined for a month with a left oblique strain. On Saturday, he hit his 19th home run of the season to help the visiting Cubs record a 5-2 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.
Chicago (86-69) can clinch a playoff spot with a win on Sunday afternoon against the Reds and a loss by the Arizona Diamondbacks to the New York Yankees.
The Cubs are tied with the San Diego Padres (86-69) in the race for the top wild-card spot in the National League, one game ahead of the Philadelphia Phillies (85-70) and five games ahead of Arizona (81-74).
“This is like uncharted territory for me,” Swanson said. “I’m just grateful for all the support from the team. Today was just a complete effort from everyone. I love when (reliever Daniel) Palencia is out there and believes no one can hit him. That is when he is best.”
Palencia retired all six batters he faced in two innings on Saturday, striking out three.
“His two innings were his best outing of the year,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said of Palencia. “Through this last week, we have to find out about our bullpen, and this was a good step in that direction.”
The bullpen took over for Matthew Boyd, who allowed two runs on two hits in five innings to pick up his first win since Aug. 9.
Four relievers allowed only two hits the rest of the way.
“If we want to be a team that plays for a long time, we need to get outs from the bullpen,” Counsell said. “We have to figure out who is going to get it done.”
The Cubs are expected to send left-hander David Peterson (8-8, 5.11 ERA) to the mound on Sunday. He is coming off a solid start in which he allowed one earned run on three hits in six innings of a 7-3 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Monday.
The 31-year-old is 1-2 with a 5.84 ERA in eight career appearances (seven starts) vs. Cincinnati (72-83), which has been eliminated from playoff contention and will counter with right-hander Rhett Lowder (6-11, 5.79 ERA) on Sunday.
Lowder’s last win came on Aug. 28, a 10-8 decision over the Cubs. He yielded three runs on six hits in five innings to improve to 1-1 with a 3.60 ERA in four career meetings (three starts) vs. Chicago.
The 24-year-old is coming off a 4-0 loss to the Dodgers on Tuesday in a game in which he gave up three runs and five hits in five innings.
The Reds rallied to forge a 2-2 tie on Saturday with two runs in the fifth inning before the game slipped away.
“The only thing I would say is I’m jealous,” Cincinnati manager Terry Francona said. “Me and Nap (bench coach Mike Napoli) were talking (Friday) night. We were looking at the scoreboard, like, man, that feeling of anxiety. I kind of miss that.”
–Field Level Media
