When the Cubs were going well — only a month or so ago! — their trifecta of relief pitchers generally went Ryan Tepera, Andrew Chafin and Craig Kimbrel, in that order, starting in the seventh inning.
Saturday afternoon, in a game that was tied 2-2 heading into the seventh, two of the first three hitters scheduled for the Diamondbacks were lefthanded, so David Ross chose Chafin to throw first.
That didn’t work. Two walks and two hits later, Arizona had a 5-2 lead. Tepera came in and retired three straight hitters, but by that time it was too late.