Ryan Rolison doesn’t have his own entrance music, like Daddy Yankee’s “Gasolina,” which heralded Cubs closer Danny Palencia’s walk to the mound Tuesday night at Wrigley Field for the first time since April 12.
Music? Until three weeks ago, Rolison didn’t even have a roof over his head in Chicago. He was pitching at Triple-A Iowa after the White Sox claimed him off waivers in January.
But it was Rolison, not Palencia, who struck out two in a scoreless 10th inning Tuesday before the Cubs won their seventh straight game and second straight in walk-off fashion, downing the Reds 3-2.
And it was Rolison, not Palencia, who struck out five consecutive batters — three in the ninth inning of a 5-4 win Monday, then the first two he faced Tuesday — to claim the victory in both games. Going back to his outing Saturday against the Diamondbacks, Rolison had set down seven straight batters on strikes.
“It’s not normal to have [8 2/3 innings] with this new team and have four of your appearances be in huge situations,” manager Craig Counsell said. “I don’t think that’s normal, but that’s the situation he’s been put in.
“I think, in a lot of ways, Ryan might tell you he’s been waiting a long time for this opportunity. And sometimes that’s what making a career for yourself is about. You got a shot, you get an opportunity. And he’s done a heck off a job taking advantage of an opportunity.”
Meanwhile, the Reds, losers of five straight, lost their closer, Emilio Pagan, when he blew out his left hamstring and dropped to the ground after his first pitch to Nico Hoerner in the ninth. Further evaluation is coming, but Pagan is likely to miss extended time.
The Cubs have won 13 straight at Wrigley, burnishing what was already the best home record in baseball to 16-5. They have won five games on walk-offs, with five different players accounting for the deciding hit.
This story originally appeared in Chicago Sun-Times.
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