How Has Cubs Star Reliever Performed Since Historically Bad Outing?

The Chicago Cubs have been one of the most exciting teams in baseball this season largely because their offense cannot stop scoring runs at a high rate.

For fans of the team, this has been terrific and the most captivating brand of baseball that's been played at Wrigley Field in a long time.

The Cubs are must watch television for baseball fans across the league, not just because of the offense, but also because they have had a hard time reliably shutting down games with a bullpen that has been an Achilles heel.

Some of Chicago's most frustrating losses have fallen solely on the backs of the relievers, and one of their offseason acquisitions brought in to improve things was noticeably struggling.

Supposed closer Ryan Pressly -- brought in via a trade with the Houston Astros -- did not get off to a good start this year, and things went from bad to worse earlier in May.

In an extra innings showdown against the San Francisco Giants, Pressly experienced a historic meltdown when he allowed seven runs before recording an out in the 11th inning, which ended in the highest scoring extra frame in the history of Wrigley Field.

Since then, however, things have started to improve for the veteran.

Ryan Pressly Has Elevated Game For Cubs Since Meltdown Against Giants

Pressly has made seven appearances and tossed six innings for Chicago since it looked like he was on the brink of heading down the path of being a DFA candidate.

He has not given up a run, he has struck out five and walked a total of just two batters in that sample size.

Before the San Francisco disaster, Pressly had an ERA of 2.08, but that number climbed all the way up to 7.62 in an instant.

Now, it's dropped back down to a slightly less ugly mark of 5.21.

It's safe to say that Pressly has not yet earned the trust of Cubs fans, and even in this impressive run, he has had a tendency to make it more interesting than it needs to be. But seeing him post goose eggs in the runs department is at least encouraging.

Chicago traded for Pressly with the goal of making him their shutdown closer.

Though the 36-year-old has not been quite that, it seems things are at least starting to trend in the right direction.

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