Cubs’ four-run ninth goes for naught; Christopher Morel gets start at third

Up until two outs in the eighth inning Sunday night, Cody Bellinger’s “double” that dropped via an outfield miscommunication Saturday was the Cubs’ only extra-base hit since the end of Friday.

After Christopher Morel’s team-leading 15th home run in the eighth, a once-dormant Cubs offense had a heroic turn. Four hits off Guardians All-Star closer Emmanuel Clase, including a two-run single by Morel, set up Cody Bellinger to cap a four-run rally with a game-tying sacrifice fly.

“A lot of fight in there,” Cubs manager David Ross said. “Each guy passing the baton.”

But with Guardians first baseman Josh Naylor rebounding from a pair of ninth-inning misplays in the field with a two-run single off reliever Adbert Alzolay in the 10th, the Cubs still fell 8-6 in 10 innings to drop the series. Ross said intentionally walking Naylor was a consideration had Alzolay fallen behind in the count, but Naylor singled on a 2-2 pitch.

“I never like to load them up right off the bat,” Ross said. “Got ahead of him, just didn’t put him away.”

The Cubs have lost six out of their last seven.

Morel’s debut at third

A homer and a two-run single did plenty to remind why Morel is essential to the Cubs’ lineup, but the search for his long-term defensive home continued. Morel spelled Nick Madrigal to make his first start at third base in the majors this season.

Morel cleanly fielded a fourth-inning chopper off the bat of Naylor, an average runner, but hesitated substantially before a wayward throw. Though it was ruled a hit, it was not quite progress after Morel committed four errors in 16 starts at third in 2022, and Naylor later came around to score a crucial run.

“We’ve got to be fundamentally sound,” Ross said. “The way we’re kind of built is defense and pitching.”

Plenty of pregame work with bench coach Andy Green preceded Morel’s start at third. Ross wants Morel to find a steady defensive spot. The jury is out on if it will come at the position he played the most in the minors.

“Versatility is nice, but I want guys to be great at a spot,” Ross said. “Finding him ^-different areas until we find out what fits best for him and our club is going to be a little bit of a challenge.”

Steele’s fastball wizardry

When National League All-Star Justin Steele is flummoxing opposing lineups with a fastball that might not top 93 mph, there’s more going on than what might meet the eye.

“Some of the fastballs he throws are like sliders at 93 mph,” catcher Tucker Barnhart said. “Some of the fastballs he throws are like cutters, sinkers and just straight four-seams, and it’s just one pitch. It’s truly special. I call it a unicorn.”

So when a bevy of uncomfortable swings follow from hitters even though a pitch breakdown shows Steele threw nothing but fastballs and sliders, he’s actually using a wider variety.

Or not.

The movement on Steele’s pitches matches his intent — jam a hitter inside, ride a heater upstairs, etc. — but the complexity isn’t communicated through PitchCom.

“We don’t call different pitches than fastballs and sliders,” Barnhart said. “Sometimes the fastball does one thing. The next time it does something different. Sometimes it’s a little bit bigger in terms of how much it’s -cutting than others. But it’s mainly just fastballs and sliders. He’s super good at executing his plan.”