NEWSLETTER
And just like that the Chicago Cubs are the first team in the NL Central to reach 12 wins! They’re not technically in first place yet because the Brewers (11-6) have played fewer games, but we’re talking about a matter of decimal places.
The Cubs (12-7) are also now tied with the Dodgers (12-9) and Braves (12-5) for most wins in the National League. And that’s without a bunch of key players and having already blown a few winnable games. What a wonderful start to the season, considering who’s still missing/hurt and how tough the schedule has been.
Nico Hoerner had a great day today on both sides of the ball, and has really turned his offensive numbers around. Just six days ago, Hoerner was slashing .171/.353/.195 (77 wRC+). After a hot week and two more doubles today, he’s up .262/.387/.361 (117 wRC+) with more walks (10) than strikeouts (9). That’s the Nico we know and love. He and Dansby Swanson also went back-to-back on a couple of slick plays early on for the full Nico-experience.
But Hoerner wasn’t the only Cub with a good day at the plate, Cody Bellinger, Dansby Swanson, and Mike Tauchman each had a couple of hits. And I also really love what I’ve been seeing from Miguel Amaya lately, who launched his second double of the year. The Cubs ultimately plated eight runs on ten hits and five walks. And they’ve now scored at least five runs in 11 of 19 games this season.
Not that they needed it.
Making his 2024 debut today, Jameson Taillon was absolutely FANTASTIC. And more importantly, he was efficient. With a double-header tomorrow, you’d hope to get some length out of him this afternoon. But that sure felt like wishful thinking, seeing as he wasn’t fully ramped up yet, having made just two rehab starts and maxing out at 68 pitches before this start. Nonetheless, Taillon needed just 73 pitches to get through 5.0 innings of one-run baseball, throwing 54 strikes and netting an impressive 12 whiffs. The only run he allowed was on a homer that was a homer in ONLY one ballpark in MLB.
More on his start tomorrow.
Keegan Thompson followed Taillon with his third consecutive 2.0 IP, 0ER performance. And Colten Brewer finished the game in his 2024 debut (he had a dirty second inning, but the job was completed).
And get this: Not one of the three pitchers used by the Cubs today were on the roster a week ago.
The only real negative today was Ian Happ maybe(?) getting hurt. He was lifted from the game in favor of Alexander Canario and was seen chatting with Craig Counsell and a Cubs trainer in the dugout. Not really sure what was going on there, but hopefully it was just a matter of being especially cautious with such a big lead already in place.
We got a weekend full of baseball still ahead of us, but this was a very good start. Cubs win again.
