The North Side National Landmark has been a thunderdome of late, a showcase of sporting joy. That’s because the hometown team is absolutely rolling.
The Chicago Cubs are 26-12 after Thursday’s 8-3 victory against the Reds, a win that capped a four-game sweep of Cincinnati. The Cubs are tied for the best record in MLB. They’ve also won 15 consecutive home games, the second-longest streak since 1935.
It all looks as real as baseball-related things can look in May. Not since the Rizzo-Bryant-Baez curse-breaking heyday have the vibes been this immaculate on the North Side.
This is a lineup deep and full of terrors. Seiya Suzuki has been a top-20 hitter in the sport. Rookie DH Moisés Ballesteros has been a revelation. Ian Happ, the longest-tenured Cub, has nine homers and is barreling up the ball at a preposterous rate. Nico Hoerner is a walking base knock. Carson Kelly leads all everyday catchers in OBP.
Guys like Pete Crow-Armstrong, Dansby Swanson, Alex Bregman and Michael Busch have been just OK at the plate, but will heat up sooner or later if they haven’t already. Even the bench bats are raking; second-string catcher Miguel Amaya, utilityman Matt Shaw and veteran bat Michael Conforto have all produced better than expected.
It’s been a slugfest over there, a rollicking party of runs and late-inning comebacks and invigorating baseball.
No sequence better captured the immaculate vibrations and unbridled joy than what happened late Wednesday night, when Crow-Armstrong delivered a dramatic, two-run, game-tying, ninth-inning big fly. In the eventual aftermath of that win, capped off by a Michael Busch walk-off walk, Crow-Armstrong cupped his hand to his ear and, as Cubs fans say, “sang the song.”
“GO CUBS GO.”
The vivacious center fielder hollered along — to both nobody in particular and to everyone in attendance — as the Windy City’s most potent ear worm echoed around the Friendly Confines. His game-tying, two-run long ball in the bottom of the ninth was the game’s defining moment, one that had sent the dugout and the stands into total bedlam. Steps behind Crow-Armstrong, Bregman flashed a megawatt grin. A cluster of teammates lingered in the outfield grass to congratulate Busch, whose walk-off walk had ended the proceedings a few minutes earlier to extend Chicago’s win streak before it rose to nine Thursday.
As such, everyone in blue pinstripes was smiling, laughing, chuckling; having the time of their lives, having a nice time at the ol’ office. The 34,000-plus in attendance, many waving the club’s white W victory flags, provided optimism and energy. The Cubs brought the baseball.
It was all quite a scene: Wrigley Field, in full roar.
This club has conjured all this springtime magic thanks to that ridiculously deep lineup. Every single Cubs hitter with over four plate appearances has an above-average batting line. Being average is better than you think. Even the star-studded, league-leading Atlanta Braves have gotten subpar performances from the likes of Austin Riley, Mike Yastrzemski and Eli White. Not the Cubs, the only team in baseball that has 12 different players with an OPS+ above 100.
Chicago currently ranks third in MLB in runs scored per game (5.47), fifth in slugging percentage (.492), first in OBP (.353), fourth in homers (50) and second in walk rate (11.8%). Despite not having a true, front-line MVP candidate, this Cubs’ offense has produced at a very high level.
Things are a bit more touch-and-go on the pitching side, where the club has had to weather a seemingly unrelenting torrent of injuries. Eleven different Cubs hurlers have spent time on the IL this year. Their bullpen has been a carousel of fill-ins and next men up. Trent Thornton, a 32-year-old journeyman, notched the win on Wednesday with a few crucial outs in what was his first ever appearance as a Cub. Impact closer Daniel Palencia is back, but not yet at full strength.
Cade Horton and Matthew Boyd, two key rotation pieces, are also down right now. Horton had reconstructive elbow surgery in early April to repair a torn ligament. Boyd tore his meniscus sitting down to play with his kids. That’s how things are rolling for the Cubs right now.
Still, the Cubs have been able to withstand this wave, holding a top-10 ERA, in large part, because of their elite defense.
Backup, second-string arms are less likely to have swing and miss stuff, which is why they’re Plan B in the first place. That means more balls in play, more defensive chances. Good defenses, like Chicago’s, turn those chances into outs. Crow-Armstrong is the single most valuable defensive player in the sport, a turbo-charged vacuum cleaner in center that makes the impossible look routine. According to advanced metrics, he’s on pace for an all-time great defensive campaign. Hoerner is probably the best defensive second baseman in baseball. Happ has won four consecutive gold gloves in left field. Swanson is reliable, if unspectacular, at shortstop. Busch is turning into a plus defender at first.
The result is a defensive unit that provides Chicago with a spectacularly high floor. Defense tends not to slump like hitting. That should allow the Cubs to maintain a respectable level of run prevention. Continued production from southpaw Shota Imanaga — he looks fully back after a down 2025 — and recent trade acquisition Edward Cabrera will help too.
On the whole, this is an outfit to be reckoned with. The NL Central is surprisingly competitive, with all five teams over .500. The entire National League should be fascinating to follow as the Braves, Cubs and Dodgers are all rocking at a 100-win pace. A million things could go wrong for Chicago between now and when the weather gets cold again and the games get important. There are real questions about whether this team has enough high-end, elite offensive talent to go toe-to-toe with Los Angeles and Atlanta in a playoff series. A few more pitching injuries to the wrong guys could sink the ship.
But those are tomorrow’s problems. None of the merry many who paid witness to those 15 consecutive wins are worrying much about October at the moment. Wrigley has been a wonderland, the Chicago Cubs are having a ball.
Read the full article here