Week In Review: Well, It Could Have Been Better

[Brock Beauchamp]

Five steps forward, two steps back?

Image courtesy of © Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

Let’s get right to it: This week, we witnessed the dream-like potential of what the Cubs could be. In the same seven-day span that led us into the All-Star Break, we witnessed that old habits die hard. I hate absolutes, but one stiflingly diabolical road trip was supposed to give the Cubs, its followers, and baseball fans a true answer on whether we must wait until next year. Here’s how it went down…

This past Tuesday, the Cubs kicked off their final road trip of the first half as Brandon Hyde, the Cubs’ former first base coach, welcomed his former club to Camden Yards for a three-game set in the sweltering summer heat of Baltimore. The Cubbies’ greatest strength, starting pitching, was on display in Game 1 of the series, with the increasingly consistent Jameson Taillon toeing the rubber against Dean Kremer of the O’s. Taillon was in complete control from the start, going six strong innings in which he struck out seven, allowed one walk, and only two earned runs. The Cubs used the year's most impressive offensive performance to help the cause, scoring in all but two innings. Final Score: 9-2 Cubs

Game two of the series pits All-Starr versus All-Star with the Cubs’ charismatic ace, Shota Imanaga, going head-to-head with a familiar foe in Corbin Burnes. On this day, Shota Imanaga’s Cubs got the best of Burnes’ Orioles. After a scoreless first inning, the Cubbies jumped out in front in the top of the second on the strength of a solo homer from Christopher Morel and an RBI single from the surging Nico Hoerner. They’d add two more later in the game, one in the fifth and one in the ninth, as the Cubs prevailed in the hotly anticipated battle of the aces, taking the game and the series. Final Score: 4-0 Cubs

With a chance to sweep one of the best teams in the American League, the Cubs handed the ball to former All-Star Justin Steele, opposite Baltimore’s veteran righty Albert Suarez. Steele is quietly becoming the most clutch pitcher in the game and spun the most shimmering gem Cubs’ fans could ask for at the most critical juncture of the squad’s season thus far. The offense, powered by Seiya Suzuki and Michael Busch, gave their starter plenty of run support throughout, but Steele stole the show. As part of a stretch that’s made him one of the most clutch pitchers in the game, Steele hurled seven innings of 3-hit baseball. The recently impressive bullpen shut things down late, giving the Cubs the series sweep. Final score: 8-0 Cubs

Riding the wave of a head-turning performance in Baltimore, which saw the Cubs’ deliver efficiently their best baseball of the season, it was off to Saint Louis for a four-game tilt. Kyle Hendricks has been one of the team’s biggest question marks throughout the 2024 season; injuries to Jordan Wicks and Ben Brown thrust him out of the bullpen and back into the starter’s role. In an unexpected twist, Hendricks delighted his teammates and Cubs fans with a six-shutout inning performance. Calls for Cubs to DFA Hendricks have been deafening, and for good reason, but his resolve in this game was inspiring. It drew sighs of relief from a weary fanbase and pushed the Cubbies’ win streak to five, matching a season high. Final score: 5-1 Cubs

As hopes began to rise on the North Side of Chicago, the Cubs were dealt a sobering reality check. In Game One of a day-night doubleheader, Hayden Wesneski proved why not only is he a liability as a starting pitcher, he’s probably not much of a starter at all. Sputtering through four innings, the right-hander was hit around more than a tether ball. In allowing nine runs in the Cardinals’ half of the first inning, Wesneski almost single-handedly extinguished the Cubs’ change of fortune manifested in the previous five contests. The Cardinals feasted on virtually every pitch thrown across the plate, racking up thirteen hits in total laughter. Final Score: 11-3 Cardinals

The Cubs found little reprieve in game two of the doubleheader. Marking Javier Assad’s long-awaited return from the injured list, the Cubs haunted its whole organization with a one-run collapse of a loss in a winnable game. The Cubs answered a sloppy first inning with four runs in the second, including a two-run blast from catcher Miguel Amaya. The Cubs took the lead into the bottom of the eighth inning, where a banged-up though often maligned bullpen proved why it’s often maligned in giving up easy hits and allowing for Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado to deliver vital and decisive blows to the Cubs and their chances of winning this crucial series. Final Score: 5-4 Cardinals.

Book-ending a steady, if not a satisfying, week of work, Jameson Taillon was tasked with washing out the foul taste left by the Cards’ doubleheader sweep from the day prior. Though he wasn’t breathtaking, Taillon was resilient, allowing his team to slam their way to a series split. From sources both familiar and unlikely, the Cubbies tallied six home runs: one from Ian Happ, one from Tomas Nido, and then two bombs from both Christopher Morel and Pete Crow-Armstrong. With flashing the lumber AND the leather, Crow-Armstrong easily enjoyed his best game in a Cubs’ uniform. His defensive hustle in center field and a suddenly hot bat provided a softer landing to the series finale. Final score: 8-3 Cubs

That’s a wrap on the season’s first half, and the Cubs’ eyebrow-raising 5-2 week puts them in the clubhouse with a 47-51 record. If you’re a genuinely eagle-eyed follower, that is about where the team was this time last year. With that in mind, and the rumors of Toronto Blue Jays’ catcher Danny Jansen being dealt to the Cubs growing by the day, it appears that Jed Hoyer seems set on sneaking the Cubs into that final Wild Card spot. Though numerous quality ball clubs are ahead of them, the Cubs are only 4.5 games back of the final Wild Card for the 2024 playoffs. This week, they proved, if nothing else, that the Chicago Cubs can hang with baseball’s finest and maybe do even more. 

 

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