(670 The Score) When the Cubs fell behind 3-1 in the eighth inning against the Dodgers on Tuesday night, they didn't pack it in and settle for a doubleheader split.
Cubs shortstop Javier Baez hit a two-run homer in the bottom of that extra eighth inning, and infielder David Bote then delivered a walk-off single in the ninth to lift his team to a 4-3 win against the reigning World Series champion Dodgers. The the tenacity the Cubs showed in coming back struck manager David Ross.
"That's the kind of guys we have," Ross said on the Laurence Holmes Show on Wednesday. "They care about one another. They have each other's backs. They're willing to fight to the end, pick each other up. When the pitching is not carrying the load, the offense is grinding out at-bats, trying to score runs, trying to keep us in games. And then when the offense isn't going, the pitching is trying to do the same.
"The charater of this group seems to be shaping out that they're never going to quit. They're never going to give up."
Ross also pointed to the Cubs' comeback against the Reds on Sunday, when they scored four runs in the eighth inning to rally from behind 12-8 to tie the game. The Reds ultimately won 13-12 in 10 innings.
The Cubs improved to 14-16 with their doubleheader sweep of the Dodgers on Tuesday. Chicago hosts Los Angeles in the series finale Wednesday evening at Wrigley Field. Center fielder Ian Happ (ribs) will likely be held out once again, but the team hopes he can return Friday, Ross said. The Cubs have an off day Thursday.
