9/5 Marmol back on track — for now

Carlos Marmol needed nine pitches Monday to dispense of the Reds in the ninth inning and pick up his 32nd save, preserving the Cubs’ 4-3 win. Marmol, who blew his ninth save opportunity in his last outing on Saturday against the Pirates, said he’s forgotten about that game.

“Tomorrow’s a new day,” Marmol said. “You don’t want to think about what happened yesterday.”

The right-hander doesn’t think about mechanics when he’s warming up in the bullpen. That’s just time to get his arm loose. But he can usually tell in the ‘pen if his mechanics are right. Can he do a seven-pitch outing every time?

“I wish,” he said.

“I’m a bit of a realist,” manager Mike Quade said. “When a guy struggles in an outing two days ago, you’re always a little bit concerned. Marmol’s pattern is that he’ll come back off those days and pitch like he did today. He hasn’t had a year like this, he hasn’t had the struggles like he’s had. Figuring out how to get back to where he was, figuring out how to deal with the frustration of not saving games, to me it’s all still a learning process. I wish he hadn’t had this adversity for sure but I do believe he’ll be better for it. The response today was exactly what you’re looking for.”

– Carrie Muskat