LONDON — Trey Mancini’s face was full of remorse as he addressed the costly error he committed at first base in the Cubs’s 7-5 loss Sunday to the Cardinals in London.
“It’s not the first instance lately where I’ve sped up plays that don’t really need to be sped up,” he said. “Let the game speed me up there, and the game’s 100% on me. I’m sorry to my teammates and all the fans because it’s been such a great trip here, and it would have been nice to get two wins. And I really feel very responsible for our loss today, and there’s no worse feeling than that.”
The Cubs had a four-run lead with two outs in the bottom of the second inning, but the Cardinals had loaded the bases. Cubs starter Marcus Stroman induced Tommy Edmond to chop a ground ball to the right side of the infield.
Mancini chased after it, not realizing it was an easy play for second baseman Nico Hoerner, until it was too late. Mancini and Stroman dashed toward the base. Mancini beat Stroman there, spinning to get in position before trying, and failing, to barehand Hoerner’s flip.
Stroman picked up the dropped ball, shouted in frustration and slapped his glove.
“It changes the momentum of the game,” Mancini said of the error. “I was mad, he was mad. I think everybody was. So, I would have reacted the same way.”
They talked soon after, and Mancini apologized to Stroman.
Stroman acknowledged he may have been upset in the moment but said he soon moved past it.
“That’s baseball man,” he said. “Mancini has been great for us all year. … [The defense has] bailed me out so many times, I can’t get mad at anyone for that situation ever.”
On the offensive side, Mancini provided a boost in his only at-bat, hitting a two-run double in the Cubs’ four-run first inning.
“The double doesn’t matter at all after that,” Mancini said.
With the loss, the Cubs split the two-game London Series with the Cardinals.
Bullpen support
Left-hander Brandon Hughes had never heard of a distal femoral osteotomy, the surgery he’s having next week, until veteran right-hander Michael Fulmer mentioned his 2019 knee surgery in spring training.
The operation corrects the alignment of the knee –in Hughes’ case, shifting the pressure to the part of the joint that hasn’t worn down to bone-on-bone.
“I started talking to him about my knee and what I was feeling,” said Hughes, who has been battling recurring swelling this season, stemming from an old meniscus injury. “He said it sounded eerily similar to what he was going through … years ago.”
Fulmer suspects his right knee issues, which hindered his ability to push off his back leg, led to his elbow injury. Fulmer underwent Tommy John surgery in March of 2019 and added the knee operation soon after, when he was already sidelined.
“It completely saved my career,” he said.
Uniform patches
The Cubs have yet to join the ranks of MLB teams with jersey patch sponsors, but they tried on a temporary partnership this weekend. Their jerseys for the London Series included a Advocate Health Care patch on the left sleeve. The team hopes the temporary patch will build greater interest in the asset.
