Daniel Palencia looks like himself again with 2 dominant innings in Cubs’ victory
CINCINNATI — Daniel Palenica appears to have recaptured his form just in time.
Palencia, who had 22 saves and a 2.91 ERA last season, looked the best he has this season, retiring all six batters he faced in the sixth and seventh innings Saturday in the Cubs’ 5-2 victory against the Reds. He struck out three and averaged 99.5 mph on his fastball, hitting 100 four times. Palenica threw 20 pitches, 15 for strikes.
And it all happened with the Cubs nursing a one-run lead. It wasn’t the same as getting the last three outs, but it was high-leverage nonetheless as the team inched closer to clinching a wild-card berth.
“Twenty pitches, probably executed 19,” manager Craig Counsell said. “It was a good sign and an important sign.”
The Cubs haven’t had a regular closer since Jacob Webb lost the job late last month. Perhaps in the final week of the season, Palenica can reclaim the role he had at the beginning of the season and keep it in the postseason, where he had five scoreless outings out of six last year.
“The bottom line is Danny’s healthy now, and again, just keep getting him out there, and it’ll click,” Counsell said. “He’s a talented pitcher. I felt like a broken record saying, ‘Just keep getting him out there.’ But that’s what you do with talented players. You keep putting them out there, and they’ll figure it out.”
“He’s more and more time away from being on the IL,” starter Matthew Boyd said of Palencia, who missed time with a strained left oblique and elbow inflammation. “That’s huge. Those reps, you can’t replicate them. Tonight was exactly who he is, and it was awesome to see.”
Boyd allowed two runs (one earned) in five innings before Palenica entered. Aaron Civale followed with two-thirds of an inning, then Ryan Zeferjahn with one before Ryan Rolison earned his third save by retiring one batter.
Rolison is among 14 Cubs with a save this season. Perhaps Palencia will be the only one in the postseason.
Happ handling platoon
One reason the Cubs acquired Tyrone Taylor before the trade deadline was because Ian Happ has struggled badly against left-handed pitching. The switch-hitting Happ has an .826 OPS against righties and a .494 mark against lefties. The right-handed-hitting Taylor has a .906 OPS against lefties.
That has relegated Happ, a four-time Glove Glove-winning left fielder, to a platoon role. With Reds lefty Nick Lodolo on the mound, Taylor started in left. Happ pinch-hit for him in the eighth when righty Pierce Johnson entered.
“That’s just the way it is, unfortunately,” Counsell said. “All of us here have performance standards that we got to live up to. It’s not for lack of trying. But on the flip side of that, how Ian’s handled that part of it has been for the betterment of the team.
“He always has that on his [mind], and it’s important to him. He gets it. It’s not what Ian wants; he wants to be in there every day. But I think he understands right now against left-handed pitching, Tyrone’s the better option.”
Steele decision coming
Left-hander Justin Steele struck out five in two scorless innings Friday at Triple-A Iowa, his fourth rehab appearance in his recovery from surgery on his left elbow. He didn’t allow a hit and walked one.
“It was certainly encouraging,” Counsell said. “He flew back to Chicago; we’ll see him on Tuesday. We’ve got some discussions to have there.”
If the Cubs think Steele, who hasn’t pitched in a big-league game since April 7, 2025, can help in the postseason, they could put him on the taxi squad, allowing him to travel and serve as an emergency replacement.
“We’ll see what we think going into the last week,” Counsell said. “There’s a lot of things that factor into it.”
Elsewhere, right-handed reliever Trent Thornton will pitch Sunday for Iowa in his rehab from a sprained left ankle.
The opposition view
Last year at this time, the Reds were in the middle of sweeping the Cubs in a four-game series on their way to an 8-3 finish that clinched them a wild-card spot on the last day of the season. This season, they’re trying to play spoiler.
“I’m jealous,” Reds manager Terry Francona said of other teams, including the Cubs, fighting for playoff spots. “[Friday] night, we were looking at the scoreboard, like [bleep] man, that feeling of anxiety, I kind of miss that.”