Chicago Cubs manager calls out pitcher for ‘mistakes’ against Diamondbacks; frustrated with bats

Not much went right for the Chicago Cubs Friday night as the Arizona Diamondbacks blew them out 8-1 in front of 37,449 fans at Chase Field. The loss dropped the Cubs to 1-3 on the season.

Starting pitcher Jameson Taillon had a bad night against the Diamondbacks, giving up six earned runs on nine hits in 4.1 innings pitched. He gave up two home runs to third baseman Eugenio Suarez, including a three-run blast that put Arizona up 4-1 in the fourth inning.

Jameson Taillon made a couple of bad mistakes

Following the game, Cubs manager Craig Counsell told reporters that Taillon made mistake pitches that led to both home runs.

“Well, those were just, you know, middle pitches that a good home run hitter did what (Suarez) does, does really well,” Counsell said via video from Marquee Sports Network. “So those are mistakes, and he made his pay for him.”

Craig Counsell addresses the media following the Cubs’ 8-1 loss to the Diamondbacks. pic.twitter.com/EmYTQcpSvo

— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) March 29, 2025

Cubs catcher Carson Kelly believes Taillon will bounce back from Friday’s struggles.

“He’s a true pro, he’s gonna He’s gonna build off it, take the things he didn’t do very well and go back and go back and throw in a bullpen and work on those,” Kelly said. “So, you know he’s a true pro he’s gonna bounce back and be perfectly fine.”

Kelly went 0-3 at-bat against the Diamondbacks. Pitching wasn’t the only factor that led to an 8-1 loss. Chicago’s bats went cold in the desert as they earned just three hits.

The bats of the Chicago Cubs are cold

Counsell was asked what Diamondbacks starting pitcher Merrill Kelly did to keep the Cubs in check. He said it was a normal outing for Merrill and said Chicago didn’t do enough to create opportunities to score runs.

“Yeah, just kind of normal what he does,” Counsell said. “The kind of hard changeups neutralizer. It’s just down, and you see the kind of, the Michael Busch at-bats maybe would kind of be indicative of that, of he just gets that ball down and just a little off-speed.

“It’s not a swing and miss pitch, it’s ground ball pitch. But… we created one opportunity, really tonight, and that’s, that’s, that’s a tough way to win.”

Kelly wasn’t the only arm the Cubs had issues with. All three hits came off Kelly. Chicago was not able to get a hit against the Diamondbacks bullpen.

The Cubs have played four games in the regular season and have finished with one run in two of those contests. Chicago added Kyle Tucker in the offseason to provide extra juice to the lineup. The star right fielder has one hit in eight at-bats this series.

The Cubs play the Diamondbacks on Saturday at 7:10 p.m. CST.

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