CHICAGO - There was a time, after the Chicago Cubs acquired him in 2013, when reliever Pedro Strop was thought of as a possible closer-in-waiting. The full-time job never materialized, but he still gets his chances, including a big one in a 2-1 Cubs win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday afternoon.
"Really impressed," manager Joe Maddon said after the game. "Strike throwing. He was out there throwing strikes with his fastball, his sinker and his slider. He looked like he was totally in control of his emotions."
He needed to be in control, simply because a lazy, one-out pop up to right field by Paul Goldschmidt fell in for a double in the ninth with one out when Jason Heyward lost the ball in the sun.