Sept. 13--The Cubs bullpen has been a concern for the past several weeks, and will be something to monitor down the stretch as they try to clinch a postseason berth.
Justin Grimm imploded in the seventh inning on Saturday night, and Hector Rondon gave up a two-run, walk-off home run in the ninth.
Cubs relievers rank 13th in innings pitched this year, and are 16th with a 3.60 earned-run average. But since the All-Star break they're 21st with a 4.33 ERA, and they blew a game against the Cardinals on Wednesday in St. Louis before Saturday's late meltdown.
Grimm has been reliable most of the season, but has given up 11 runs in 16 2/3 innings since the start of August. The five runs he gave up Saturday were all unearned thanks to an Anthony Rizzo error.
"It's just getting them to get their confidence," manager Joe Maddon said before Sunday's finale against the Phillies. "Listen, most (or) all of them are having very good years, and physically, as you saw (Saturday) night, (Grimm) is throwing 98 miles an hour.
"They've just got to get their confidence right and (I'll) try to avoid overusing them. I think they're all in pretty good order right now. It was just a tough night for Justin. I'm not concerned about them in a sense. I have great confidence in them. I just want to make sure their confidence is in order going forward. That's it."
Here's today's lineup against Aaron Harang:
Fowler CF
Schwarber LF
Coghlan RF
Rizzo 1B
Bryant 3B
Montero C
Castro 2B
Haren P
Russell SS
