Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell gets 100 percent real about this tactic during a brutal 17-0 thrashing against the Red Sox

Ceddanne Rafaela homered and drove in seven runs as the Boston Red Sox crushed the Chicago Cubs 17-0 on Saturday.

It got so bad for the Cubs that manager Craig Counsell used first baseman Matt Mervis and right fielder Patrick Wisdom on the mound in the ninth inning.

After the game, the Cubs’ manager explained his thinking, courtesy of Marquee Sports Network:

Said Counsell, “Pitching-wise, we essentially had to use two guys, and we’re getting guys some rest. So, that’s the way this works. When that’s the score, you gotta start thinking about tomorrow.”

It was just one of those games for the Cubs, who dropped to 17-10 with the loss. The Red Sox set single-game season highs at home with their 17 runs and 21 hits. Boston, which had lost eight of their first 11 games at Fenway Park this season, snapped a two-game losing streak and won for the fifth time in eight games overall.

Rafaela, batting ninth in the order, went 4 for 4. Masataka Yoshida went 4 for 5. Bobby Dalbec, who entered the game batting .093, had two hits, three RBIs, and scored twice.

The Cubs, on the other hand, managed just four hits in the loss. Chicago starter Ben Brown allowed three runs on seven hits in 3 2/3 innings.

Cubs looking to future

© David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports
Chicago Cubs outfielder Cody Bellinger is headed to the injured list with a fractured rib, and as a corresponding move, the organization has called up Pete Crow-Armstrong as a corresponding move.

Based on Counsell’s comments, it seems like Crow-Armstrong will not be playing in an everyday role – which makes sense when looking at the Cubs’ roster. They can still regularly run outfield alignment of Ian Happ in left, Mike Tauchman in center field and Alexander Canario in right field. Crow-Armstrong could possibly see occasional starts or substitute at times, whether that be on defense or as a pinch runner.

Usually when a team calls up a young player like Crow-Armstrong, fans will immediately begin to call for starting that player every day. The important factor here is that this was not a planned call up for Crow-Armstrong, and he would still be in the minor leagues if not for Bellinger getting injured. That does not mean that he won’t get a chance to claim every day playing time if he plays well in the chances he does get.

Crow-Armstrong has not exactly lit the baseball world on fire in Triple-A this year as well. In 19 games, he hit .203 with a .241 on-base percentage with two home runs before being called up.

Although Crow-Armstrong figures to be a key player in the Cubs’ future, he might not be getting as much playing time as some fans would like or expect for a top prospect getting their call up to the big leagues.