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Why Cubs are encouraged by closer Ryan Pressly’s performance despite uneven results

PHOENIX — Cubs pitching coach Tommy Hottovy liked what he saw when he strode out to the mound in the ninth inning Saturday for a visit with Ryan Pressly three straight hits into a save opportunity.Eugenio Suarez’s two-run homer had cut the Cubs’ lead over the Diamondbacks to one. And now Pressly had another runner on after a seven-pitch battle with Gabriel Moreno resulted in a line-drive single to right field.“Going to the mound in that situation, seeing his confidence, it was awesome,” Hottovy told the Sun-Times.That story had a happy ending for Pressly — a save and a 4-3 Cubs win — but the bullpen has work to do. Even before blowing a four-run lead in spectacular fashion in a 10-6 loss Sunday, it had a middling 5.03 ERA, which put it 18th in the majors. Then the Diamondbacks scored eight runs in the eighth inning of that game against three relievers.Some of the issues are magnified by the time of year and a disjointed buildup because of the Tokyo Series that opened the season before…