Al did a nice job talking about this team and its heart. This team doesn’t quit. They don’t see themselves as out of it. They have so much thunder available. One has to wonder if the next time the Cubs play the Brewers, they see a shadow hanging over their shoulder. I have no doubt they’ll have some Pete Crow-Armstrong related nightmares in the weeks to come.
Ironically, over the last five plus years, the advantage the Brewers have had against the Cubs was the ability to dig out of a hole. The Brewers have consistently featured a dominating bullpen and an offense that never quit fighting. My, how the tables have turned. With those turned tables, there’s a significant chance that, assuming relatively decent health, the Cubs take back the NL Central crown that the Brewers have owned consistently in recent years.
The last time I can remember the Cubs bullpen allowing multiple runs in a game was the first closer game for Daniel Palencia back on May 19. Even then, it was just two runs. But those two runs were enough for a one-run loss. The bullpen allowed three runs in this one and again, a one-run loss. A bullpen can be a mighty weapon. And yet, almost every time they misstep, it costs you.
Craig Counsell has been so good with the bullpen that I hate to even second guess. But when I saw Génesis Cabrera as the first out of the pen, I was surprised. I thought first man up would be Chris Flexen. I realize he was trying to stack innings and that was the spot he saw for Cabrera. That ended up being a disaster. Cabrera almost certainly leaves the roster for a healthy Porter Hodge at some point this week. I’ve been seeing that move for more than a week and it’s hard to see, if everyone is healthy, how that isn’t the next move for this team.
This one would have been nice to win. Unfortunately, they just couldn’t finish the comeback. The difference in this one was the constant pressure applied by the Brewers offense. The Cubs were good in bursts. they hit thee homers. But they only had six hits total. To be fair, they did draw five walks. That’s a decent offensive output. But the Brewers posted 12 hits and four walks. That doesn’t look like a one-run game. But it was.
This game floated a thought for me for the first time. I’ve very definitely remained pro-Ian Happ for leadoff. But a game that ends with PCA in the on deck circle has me thinking about moving him up in the order. I absolutely love the Tucker-Suzuki-PCA sandwich in the order. For the first time I’m stewing on them as 1-2-3 and what the lineup might look after that. I’m not necessarily endorsing it. Happ-Busch gives you your five most productive hitters in the top five slots. You would then be very right handed after that. And you aren’t massively susceptible to left-handed pitching.
I’m not saying I love it. But it is a passing thought.
Pitch Counts:
Brewers: 160, 39 BF
Cubs: 153, 41 BF
Interestingly, the Cubs were actually a little more efficient with their pitching. Even in struggling, Jameson Taillon actually kept the pitch count under control. The big bloat for them was really in the Cabrera inning. Flexen threw 46 pitches and we probably won’t see him for a few days, but he threw three innings. I wouldn’t think we’d see either of Cabrera or Flexen on Friday.
If the Cubs are ruthless, they’ll make a move before Friday and Cabrera could be gone. I don’t suspect they’ll go ruthless. They typically haven’t, but the Julian Merryweather move was decisive. Usually, the Cubs like to have a rehabbing reliever tackle back-to-back appearances before returning. Hodge hasn’t tackled that and I’d expect them to check that box this weekend. So someone would probably have to bridge to Hodge.
We shall see on that one.
Three Stars:
The pitching was largely a hot mess. The three scoreless innings thrown by Flexen gave the Cubs a glimmer of hope.
Dansby Swanson was the only Cub with two hits. He also drew a walk. One of his hits was a solo homer. He scored twice.
Pete Crow-Armstrong had an early two-run homer to reach the 20-20 (23 steals) mark. He was also hit by a pitch and scored twice.
Game 74, June 19: Brewers 8, Cubs 7 (45-29)
Fangraphs
Reminder: Heroes and Goats are determined by WPA scores and are in no way subjective.
THREE HEROES:
Superhero: Pete Crow-Armstrong (.213). 1-3, HR, HBP, 2 RBI, 2 R
Hero: Dansby Swanson (.138). 2-3, HR, BB, RBI, 2 R
Sidekick: Ian Happ (.129). 1-4, HR, BB, 2 RBI, R
THREE GOATS:
Billy Goat: Jameson Taillon (-.376). 4 IP, 20 BF, 8 H, BB, 5 ER, 2 K (L 7-4)
Goat: Seiya Suzuki (-.287). 0-5, DP
Kid: Genesis Cabrera (-.171). IP, 6 BF, 2 H, BB, 3 ER
WPA Play of the Game: Pete Crow-Armstrong’s two-run homer in the first, turning a one run deficit into a one run lead. (.206)
*Brewers Play of the Game: Ironically, Trevor Megill (who strikes out a lot of hitters) faced Seiya Suzuki (who strikes out a lot) and the key play of the game was Megill getting Suzuki to ground into a double play. (.199)
Cubs Player of the Game:
Poll
Who was the Cubs Player of the Game?
0%
Pete Crow-Armstrong
(0 votes)
0%
Someone else (leave your suggestion in the comments)
(0 votes)
0 votes total
Wednesday’s Game Winner: PCA received 153 of 312 votes (Seiya Suzuki received 135 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 +26
PCA +15
Jameson Taillon +14
Drew Pomeranz +13
Shōta Imanaga/Miguel Amaya +11
Jon Berti -9
Ben Brown -14
Julian Merryweather -15
Seiya Suzuki -16.5
Dansby Swanson -21.33
Up Next: A 37-36 Mariners team that had Thursday off shows up at Wrigley Field for their bi-annual visit. On May 23, they were 29-21 after winning in Houston. Cal Raleigh hit his 17th homer that night. Since then, the Mariners are 8-15. Raleigh has hit 10 homers in those 23 games, but they’ve become fairly one dimensional.
Matthew Boyd (6-3, 2.79, 80⅔ IP) makes his 15th start for the Cubs. That will match the most number of starts he’s made in the post-Covid era. He’s made it to 15 starts three times. The next one after this will be really special for him. But that’s a story for another day. Boyd has been an amazing addition for this team. I’m a real believer. The Mariners were not one of Boyd’s starts last year.
George Kirby (1-3, 5.96, 25⅔ IP) makes his sixth start of the year for the Mariners. The 27-year-old has 94 career starts under his belt. This guy was an All-Star back in 2023. This year, he missed the Opening Day roster for the Mariners due to shoulder inflammation and he didn’t make his first start until May 22 in Houston. Putting this all together (tongue in cheek), Kirby has tanked this team. Kirby is another first round pick (20th overall in 2019) for the Cubs to challenge themselves against. Don’t sleep on him. He’s thrown better in June (1-1, 3.18, 17 IP). That includes 22 strikeouts and four walks.
I think the Cubs are probably too much for the Mariners, but they’ll certainly not be able to coast through this.