I will say, it’s one heck of a thing following and covering a team when I actually have to go and look to find the last series loss. It was just short of one month ago, May 9-11, against the Mets in New York. So the Tigers, Mets, Giants (in Chicago), the Phillies (in Chicago), the Padres and the Dodgers in Japan. That is the sum total of all of the series losses. The Dodgers two-game set in Japan was the only sweep.
That’s the good news. The Cubs have played 22ish series and lost six of them. One split? That’s a whole lot of series wins. That’s how one gets to 40-25. Stacking a ton of series wins on top of one another. Now heading to Philadelphia, they have another tough challenge. No rest for the wicked. Six of 13 straight done. They’ve started at 3-3. This stretch is so rough that seven would be good. I’m still betting on the over, even with the daunting challenge ahead. The starters have done terrific the first time through. All the key relievers are loaded up on their way to Philly.
All weekend long, the Cubs were a little off. The Cubs arguably saw the two best Tigers starters. The Tigers saw the Cubs healthiest starter. All three of those top pitchers won games for their respective teams. I’m not prepared to say that the Tigers would beat the Cubs hands down in a seven-game series. Should they break a long World Series drought, they’ll be a formidable and worthy opponent to whomever comes out of the NL.
The Tigers were a 2024 playoff team and they won a series. Unsurprisingly, they were ready for this challenge on their home turf. Good for them. The Cubs still have a bit of growth to get where they are going. They still have some remnants of the teams that fell short in 2023 and 2024. And we’ve all known for a long time that this team still needs to add to get where it’s going. They don’t have the starting pitching to go toe-to-toe with the best teams. Also, Shōta Imanaga is still working his way back. When Taillon is their third starter, this team is much better. Especially since that makes Matthew Boyd, who has been fantastic, their fourth starter. Boyd wasn’t lined up for this series.
I’m turning the page. Let’s move past this series and gear up for the Phillies.
Pitch Counts:
Cubs: 116, 36 BF (8 IP)
Tigers: 136, 33 BF
The Cubs actually did pretty well. They allowed 10 hits and two walks. That’s not great. But they didn’t waste a ton of pitches. Not terrific pitching. But, they did a good job limiting damage.
The Tigers actually threw a lot of pitches for how dominating they were. four hits and three walks. The Cubs just couldn’t get enough traffic. This series made the Cubs look like a team that struggled to score without the long ball. But I don’t think that’s a Cubs feature but a hat tip to the Tigers.
Chris Flexen and Ryan Brasier covered the final three innings, leaving all of the primary relievers rested heading to Philly. Brasier only threw six pitches. He’ll be available too. Flexen has been being used as a bulk reliever with multiple days between appearances. So one would think the Cubs will be a man down early in the Philly series. But also, the last man up really.
Three Stars:
Dansby Swanson had two hits in three at-bats, one of them was the only extra-base hit, a double.
Chris Flexen gets my second spot just for saving the rest of the pen.
Ryan Brasier gets the nod for three outs in six pitches.
Game 65, June 8: Tigers 4, Cubs 0 (40-25)
Fangraphs
Reminder: Heroes and Goats are determined by WPA scores and are in no way subjective.
THREE HEROES:
Superhero: Dansby Swanson (.079). 2-3, 2B
Hero: Kyle Tucker (.034). 0-3, BB
Sidekick: Ryan Brasier (.009). IP, 3 BF
THREE GOATS:
Billy Goat: Cade Horton (-.167). 5 IP, 24 BF, 7 H, 2 BB, 4 ER, 6 K (L 3-1)
Goat: Seiya Suzuki (-.089). 0-4
Kid: Michael Busch (-.084). 1-4
WPA Play of the Game: Spencer Torkelson batted with runners on first and second with two outs in the first inning. He doubled and drove in two runs. (.188)
*Cubs Play of the Game: Dansby Swanson doubled leading off the fifth inning, down two at the time. (.075)
Cubs Player of the Game:
Poll
Who was the Cubs Player of the Game?
33%
Someone else (leave your suggestion in the comments)
(1 vote)
3 votes total
Yesterday’s Winner: Jameson Taillon 224 of 270 votes.
Rizzo Award Standings: (Top 5/Bottom 5)
The award is named for Anthony Rizzo, who finished first in this category three of the first four years it was in existence and four times overall. He also recorded the highest season total ever at +65.5. The point scale is three points for a Superhero down to negative three points for a Billy Goat.
Kyle Tucker +23
Jameson Taillon +15
Shōta Imanaga/Drew Pomeranz/Miguel Amaya +11
Jon Berti -7
Ben Brown -11
Seiya Suzuki -12.5
Julian Merryweather -15
Dansby Swanson -18.33
Up Next: The Cubs travel to face the 37-28 Phillies who took two of three in Chicago. Matthew Boyd (5-3, 3.01, 68⅔ IP) starts for the Cubs. He pitched well but lost earlier on this trip in Washington, giving up two runs in 7⅓ innings despite allowing only four hits. Tough break. He missed the Philly series in Chicago. Boyd will make his 13th start. He’s only exceeded that number twice since 2019. He started 15 games in each of 2021 and 2023.
35-year-old Zack Wheeler (6-2, 2.96, 76 IP) starts for the Phillies. The sixth overall pick of the Giants in 2009 will also be making his 13th start of the season. The Cubs just keep facing strong pitchers. Wheeler last pitched on May 29 when he allowed six earned runs in 5⅓ innings. He was 4-1 with a 2.25 in 32 May innings. So that last one was the only blemish. He allowed eight runs all month. He missed one start on the paternity list.
Even at 35, Wheeler remains one of the best in the business.