Paul Sullivan: Cubs take care of business, completing sweep of Pirates before heading to London

PITTSBURGH — Like any extended family trip, there was a lot of scurrying in the Chicago Cubs clubhouse Wednesday as they prepared for their four-day excursion to London.

There were things to be packed, last-minute arrangements to be made and a checklist that traveling secretary Vijay Tekchandani has been working on since his long beard was merely day-old stubble four years ago.

Manager David Ross, the designated Clark Griswold of this work-related vacation, heads a group of 197 Cubs employees and family members, nearly triple the usual traveling party, for the London Series against the St. Louis Cardinals. Several front-office employees showed up in Pittsburgh to join the flight, since because you never know when a trade might come to fruition.

Everyone was eager to sightsee, take a few selfies and maybe enjoy a pint or two on the Cubs’ first outside-the-box trip since last summer’s Field of Dreams game in Dyersville, Iowa.

“Super excited to go over there and see what it’s all about,” pitcher Kyle Hendricks said. “I’ve never been to Europe in general, and I think a lot of guys here haven’t. The vibes are pretty good, really high. Obviously it’s a business trip. Got to take care of those two games. But we’ll have some time to ourselves and see what the town has to offer.”

First the Cubs had to take care of a little business on the field, a task they’ve managed to do with relative ease against the downward trending Pittsburgh Pirates. The Cubs wound up with an 8-3 win Wednesday, sweeping the series and notching their 10th victory in 12 games since falling 10 games under .500 in Anaheim, Calif.

They outscored the Pirates 48-14 while taking all six games since June 13, back when the Pirates led the National League Central by one game. They since have lost nine straight, falling to fourth place.

Hendricks (3-2) allowed one earned run on two hits over 6 1/3 innings, Nico Hoerner homered, tripled and drove in three runs from the leadoff spot and Mark Leiter Jr. survived a scary fall in the seventh when his left (non-throwing) arm bent backwards as he fell hard attempting to catch an errant throw from first baseman Trey Mancini.

Leiter not only got up but finished the inning. A Cubs trainer told him he thought Leiter had separated his shoulder.

“I just laughed,” Leiter said afterward. “Didn’t feel a thing.”

Hendricks breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Leiter get up.

“He said he didn’t even feel it, and I was like, ‘Thank God,’ because he’s such a huge part of this team,” Hendricks said. “That’s the last thing we need.”

After the sweep it was on to London, where the Cubs have off days Thursday and Friday to shake off the jet lag, relax and have fun.

Hoerner, who last visited relatives in London as a 7-year-old, brought his mom and girlfriend along.

“There are a lot of logistics, but it’s really cool to do something completely different in the middle of a season,” Hoerner said. “Last year the Field of Dreams was really well-run, obviously on a smaller scale as far as travel. MLB did a great job putting that event on and keeping the baseball major-league quality while also doing something really cool.”

With the exception of a few players such as Hendricks and Ian Happ, it was a completely different Cubs team when MLB announced in 2019 that the Cubs and Cards would play June 13-14, 2020, in the second London Series following the New York Yankees-Boston Red Sox matchup. Cubs catcher Willson Contreras asked Yankees shortstop Gleyber Torres to take mental notes during his trip in anticipation of the Cubs-Cards games.

“Do your homework,” Contreras said he told Torres. “Check the places and let me know what’s good for me for next year.”

But the series was canceled in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and MLB waited three years to reschedule. Contreras will still play in the series, albeit wearing a Cardinals uniform now. Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo, who were part of an MLB promotion in ‘19 where they pretended to be the Beatles making their famous stroll across Abbey Road, are also long gone.

“We were all very excited about it in ‘20 and didn’t get a chance to do it,” Happ said. “So the fact we’re still here and being on the trip, it’s going to be a lot of fun.”

Ross adjusted his rotation a bit for the London Games. Justin Steele remained as Saturday’s starter, while Marcus Stroman, who won his seventh straight start Tuesday and leads the National League in ERA, moved up to pitch Sunday on regular rest.

“Best pitcher in a division game and lines up really well,” Ross said. “He likes to stay on turn. A lot of factors in that (decision).”

Ross didn’t mention the games also are nationally televised. The Cubs want to put their best foot forward on the big stage, starting their top two pitchers in MLB’s showcase event. Dansby Swanson, who sat out Wednesday with a sore right wrist after being hit by a pitch Tuesday, is expected to be play Saturday.

The Cubs and Cardinals were prime-time teams when the game was first announced in 2019. Now they’re both sub-.500 teams contending in a mediocre division, though the Cubs have been playing their best stretch of ball in nearly three years and have the pitching to maintain this hot streak.

“They’ve continued to give us a chance to win every day, or dominating, like you saw the last couple days,” Hoerner said. “It’s been solid. There’s been a little more sense of order in the bullpen, what to expect out there.

“Give those guys a ton of credit for sticking out some tough stretches and coming out the other side of it in a strong place, and obviously hitting with runners in scoring position is a big topic for us and we’ve done a better job of that.”

Everything has clicked for the Cubs the last two weeks, but they still need a prolonged stretch of winning to prove they’re true contenders.

“We’ve got to roll that into London,” Hendricks said. “But really glad we took care of business here.”