The baseball rocketed off Willson Contreras’ bat down the left-field line at Chase Field and sailed over the wall, cementing the type of comeback the Chicago Cubs had not experienced this season.
Three consecutive two-out hits in the ninth inning Saturday against Arizona Diamondbacks closer Joakim Soria turned a one-run loss into a 4-2 victory. It represented the Cubs’ first win when trailing entering the ninth since Sept. 12, 2020, in Milwaukee, a memorable four-run inning that featured Jason Heyward and Ildemaro Vargas homering off Josh Hader.
Contreras delivered the go-ahead two-run homer Saturday after backup catcher and pinch hitter Robinson Chirinos drove in Rafael Ortega following a double.
“He’s just so calm and comfortable within his approach,” Cubs manager David Ross said of Contreras. “He’s staying true to who he is. … That’s what Willson is capable of.”
The Cubs rode Contreras hard in the first half. He leads National League catchers in innings caught (641?), right behind the Boston Red Sox’s Christian Vazquez for the major-league lead. The four-day All-Star break was much needed for Contreras, who feels fresh after acknowledging Saturday that he was playing with body soreness.
“It’s important for me to do a good job of keeping him fresh, what the at-bats look like,” Ross said. “It’s really clear that he’s grinded for us and me and this team really hard this year, and for him to get his legs underneath him with the All-Star break and come through like he did tonight, it’s just nice. That’s the type of right-handed hitter he’s capable of being. He’s pretty darn good in the box.”
Contreras might be the toughest player to replace on the roster if the Cubs lost him for an extended time. One reason he has started 76 of 92 games is the injuries they’ve endured to backup catchers; Chirinos is the fifth they’ve used this season.
“Being a catcher, it’s tough to go night game to a day game, and he’s been doing this the whole year,” Chirinos said of Contreras. “Catching the most innings in the big leagues, that’s not easy to do, especially performing the way he’s been doing, awesome.”
A week has passed since Contreras’ strong comments critiquing his team’s effort and focus. Contreras, talking for the first time since then, said his teammates understood his point.
“It’s already over. We’re starting from zero,” Contreras said. “I tell my guys: ‘We start from zero. Let’s do it because I believe in this team. I believe in the talent that we have on the team.’
“We’re looking forward to competing and competing to the last out like today. When we’re competing, we’re tough to beat, and that’s the mindset that I’m trying to create with my teammates. I believe in each and every one of my teammates.”
Contreras is trying to set the tone for a team that, in his words, was caught by surprise with the Joc Pederson trade Thursday. The Cubs’ schedule to start the second half is favorable. They have an opportunity to sweep the worst team in baseball with a win Sunday before heading to St. Louis to face a struggling Cardinals squad.
Contreras is bringing a sense of urgency to the Cubs. His performance Saturday — which included a good outing with Adbert Alzolay to limit the Diamondbacks to two runs in five innings — backed it up.
“He plays a huge role in this team,” Alzolay said. “I tell him all the time, I feel that he plays two different games because he’s got to hit and then call the game behind the plate. Whenever he’s out there we’ve got a chance to win every game. Something can happen when he’s there.”
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