Shades of 23-22? Wrigley Field winds — and Cubs bullpen — turn a pitchers duel into a slugfest.

The wind was blowing out at Wrigley Field, so the Cubs' wild 13-11 victory over the Diamondbacks wasn't that unexpected — even at Wrigley Field, a total of 11 runs is an indication of which way the wind's blowing.

What was strange was how the slugfest ensued. Most of the memorable high-scoring games at Wrigley Field give early notice, like in 1979 when 13 runs were scored in the first inning — the Phillies scored seven and the Cubs responded with six — en route to the unbelievable 23-22 final. But going to the bottom of the seventh inning Friday, the Cubs led 2-1. Did the winds suddenly shift or kick up? Or are the Cubs' and Diamondbacks' bullpens that bad?

The Cubs' horrid bullpen, which came into the game with a 4.92 ERA that ranked 27th in MLB, surely contributed to the run explosion, and perhaps is running so badly these days, they pulled the Diamondbacks down to their level. Actually, the Diamondbacks' bullpen started it, though, allowing five runs in the bottom of the seventh as the Cubs took a 7-1 lead.

But the Cubs' bullpen outdid them — it's what they do — as Jordan Wicks and Porter Hodge combined to allow 10 earned runs in the eighth inning that gave the Diamondbacks an 11-7 lead. (In fairness, five of the runs should have been unearned after someone named Vidal Brujan butchered a tough but playable hop into a "double" by Randal Grichuk that gave the Diamonbacks an 8-7 lead, but should have been the third out of the inning.)

The Cubs responded with six runs in the bottom of the eighth — including back-to-back jacks by Kyle Tucker and Seiya Suzuki to take a 13-11 lead that held up when Ryan Pressly impressively pitched a 1-2-4 ninth.

The suddenness of the latest Wrigley Field slugfest made it particularly memorable. But in reality, it wasn't that special. It's the 209th time both teams have scored 10 or more runs at Wrigley. And the 24 total runs are tied for the 78th highest-scoring game in the history of the Cubs at Wrigley Field.

But it did conjure memories of the greatest slugfest in the history of Wrigley Field — the Phillies' 23-22 victory in 10 innings on May 17, 1979. The Phillies led 7-6 after one and 21-9 into the bottom of the fifth before the Cubs rallied to tied the game 22-22 on Barry Foote's ground single to left field that scored Steve Ontiveros. (I somehow managed to faintly hear that game-tying hit on WGN radio from my room in Columbia, Mo. as a sophomore in college.)

Mike Schmidt homered off Bruce Sutter — only the best relief pitcher in the game en route to winning the Cy Young Award that season — and the heart of the Cubs order (Bill Bucker, Dave Kingman, Steve Ontiveros) went down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the 10th and that was that.

The Cubs bullpen suffered that day, but it wasn't anything like this year's pen. In fact, four Cubs relievers who either were current or future All-Star closers combined to allow 15 earned runs in eight innings of relief: Donnie Moore (7 ER in 2 IP) had 31 saves and a 1.92 ERA for the Angels in 1985; Willie Hernandez (6 ER in 2 2/3 IP) won the Cy Young Award and Most Valuable Player Award with 32 saves and a 1.92 ERA for the World Champion Tigers in 1984; Bill Caudill (1 ER in 1 1/3 IP) had 36 saves for the Athletics in 1984; and Sutter was on his way to a league-leading 37 saves and the Cy Young Award in 1979 and eventually the Hall of Fame.

Even starter Dennis Lamp (6 ER in 1/3 of an inning) became a top-notch reliever — leading the AL West champion White Sox with 15 saves in 1983 and going 11-0 as a set-up man (for Caudill and Tom Henke) with the AL East champion Blue Jays in 1985. It wasn't the bullpen. It was just one of those days.

The Philadelphia Bulletin's coverage of the Phillies' 23-22 victory over the Cubs on May 17, 1979 at Wrigley Field.

The Cubs' 23-22 loss to the Phillies on May 17, 1979 was front-page sports section news throughout the country — including the above-the-flag A1 coverage in the Idaho Statesman. (credit: University of Missouri School of Journalism library discard bin)