Week In Review: Uneven Week All But Seals Cubs’ Fate with Trade Deadline Near

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Well, if you had grown tired of the Cubs losing one-run games, this was the week for you.

Image courtesy of © David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

But, if you were hoping for the start of a miracle run that pulls the club out of the seller cellar, this was not the week for you. The Cubs returned to Wrigley this week for a unique six-game home stand against one of MLB’s best teams and one of MLB’s worst teams.

After an off day last Monday, The Cubs hosted the NL East-leading Phillies, and while the contests weren’t as one-sided as you’d expect, given how each squad’s respective seasons have gone, the Cubs still dropped two out of three to Kyle Shwarber’s current squad. The first game in the series saw two young pitchers square off as the Phils’ newly acquired Michael Mercado took the mound opposite the Cubs’ Hayden Wesneski. Wesneski has been imbalanced at best this season, and this start was no different; he went five innings, gave up five hits, five earned runs, walked three, and struck out seven. Mercado, on the other hand, was razor sharp. His final line for this early-July match: five innings pitched, two hits allowed, one earned run, two walks surrendered, and struck out four. The Cubs stayed close early, drawing to within one after notching a run in the third inning, but did not score again until the ninth with a three-run rally that fell short, ending in a 6-4 loss.

Game two in the series was as frustrating as any game this year for the Cubbies. They sent staff ace Shota Imanaga to the bump, and he did not disappoint, putting his team in position to win, going six full innings and allowing three runs. The Cubs’ scant offense did them in once again, pushing across only three runs on nine hits. Pete Crow-Armstrong swiped yet another base, though his struggles at the plate continue to be a major concern for Craig Counsell’s club. Final score: 5-3 Philadelphia.

Chicago went with Jameson Taillon in the series finale, and he continued what’s been an impressive stretch, surrendering a meager two runs on four hits over seven frames of baseball. Ian Happ led an offensive barrage for his squad, cashing in two monstrous 3-run home runs, one from each side of the plate, the second of which he launched over the wall in right field and onto Waveland Avenue. In arguably their most impressive appearances of the season, Drew Smyly and Hector Neris came on in relief, both recording an inning of scoreless baseball as the Cubs rolled to a 10-2 victory. 

Next up, the Cubbies welcomed the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim into the Friendly Confines. Though the Cubs failed to sweep the lowly Halos, they did earn a series win, taking two of three, and what stood out was not that they did it but how they did it. In game one, we were treated to one of perhaps the best pitching performances of the season in professional baseball as Justin Steele, the Mississippi Bulldog himself, dazzled, going all nine innings and enjoying his first-ever complete-game victory. He was the story of the day in what proved to be an almost perfect performance for the Cubs, both offensively and defensively. Starting at third base, Miles Mastrobuoni put on a defensive clinic and set the tone early with an extra base-stealing snag on an absolute line rocket off the bat of Angels’ lead-off man Taylor Ward. The Cubs cruised to a 5-1 win, and if anything comes up this season, then this one will certainly go down as “The Justin Steele Game.” Maybe it still will. 

Coming off of the emotional high from the previous game, the Cubs delivered a resoundingly flat performance in game two. Kyle Hendricks etched the start Cubs fans have come to fear this season, getting knocked around early and often. In his only two innings of work, Hendricks surrendered four hits, allowed two earned runs, walked two, and only struck out one batter. Though his viability as a starter and how his presence in the Cubs’ starting rotation plagues the club’s overall chances of a resurgence were already in question, the calls for his removal are now louder than ever. The Cubs managed nothing offensively, scattering four hits and going 0-1 with RISP. 

In the series' rubber match, Hayden Wesneski looked to quell concerns about his weak performance earlier in the week. And he did. Notching 6.1 innings of work, Wesneski sparkled with the one-hit ball, no earned runs, walking one, and striking out two. He stepped up when his team desperately needed it and helped the Cubbies return the favor of the previous game’s shutout, delivering one of their own to the Angels on Sunday afternoon, 5-0 in Wrigleyville. 

Now, after another off day Monday, the Cubs will hit the road, continuing the fight for their lives with a brutal seven-game stretch versus the Baltimore Orioles for three and a four-game series against the rival Cardinals in St. Louis. To paraphrase Tom Morello, “Nobody said it would be easy,” and it won’t be. But as we hurdle toward the All-Star break and the official end to the first half of the season, in winning a few games comfortably, the Cubs may be doing just enough to keep us invested just a bit longer.

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