Chicago Cubs’ Struggles and Successes
The Chicago Cubs aimed for a strong start in their series but narrowly avoided a sweep against the league’s worst team. They hope the Thursday win will lead to success in their upcoming three-game series against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park. Holding just one game above a .500 record, the Cubs find themselves tied with the Pittsburgh Pirates for third place in the National League Central, trailing the Milwaukee Brewers by 7½ games. This period has been a rollercoaster, recording 22 losses in their last 30 games after a streak of 20 wins in 23 games.
Pete Crow-Armstrong’s Performance
Pete Crow-Armstrong, the Cubs’ center fielder, has been a bright spot, achieving a 15-game on-base streak. Over the past 31 games, he’s produced a .267/.363/.509 slash line with seven home runs, five doubles, and 16 RBIs, boasting a 145 wRC+. His 1.8 fWAR is the highest in the National League, comparable with Shohei Ohtani. This earned him the NL Player of the Week award.
Crow-Armstrong commented, “Knowing exactly what I want to do each at-bat. You see people take good pitches, and they get more good pitches to hit, so just executing on those good pitches that I’m getting.”
He has maintained a solid walk rate of 9.6% and a strikeout rate of 23.7%, contributing significantly to his success.
Ben Brown: An Unexpected Leader
Ben Brown has become a critical pitcher for the Cubs, stepping up when Matthew Boyd had surgery on his left knee. Brown boasts a 1.44 ERA over six starts, achieving 34 strikeouts and eight walks with no home runs in 31 1/3 innings. His ERA is among the best, only behind Jacob Misiorowski, Cristopher Sánchez, Bryce Miller, and Shohei Ohtani.
Cubs Manager Counsell remarked, “This is often how it happens. … When you’re not maybe in the spot you want to be, but are you ready when the next moment arrives? … He’s done a good job.”
Despite Brown’s efforts, the Cubs’ rotation has a 6.29 ERA in the last four weeks, challenging the team further.
Offensive Woes
The Cubs’ offensive power has been lacking. A three-homer game on Thursday was a rare occurrence since April 25. Starting from May 16, during their losing streak, the Cubs rank 28th in slugging percentage and 27th in Isolate Power.
Dansby Swanson, Nico Hoerner, and Seiya Suzuki have struggled with their production, showing low wRC+ and SLG percentages even as Suzuki hit a grand slam recently.
According to Counsell, “Hitting, it’s really simple: when you get pitches to hit, those are the ones you’ve got to hit hard, and there’s been some hard-hit balls, but for the most part, we haven’t done that enough.”
This inconsistency highlights the need for efficient execution at the plate to capitalize on scoring opportunities.