Cubs Week In Review: Breakthrough Stretch, Followed By A Belly Flop

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All of us have that one surprising fact in our back pocket that others always seem surprised is true: a tomato is actually a fruit, not a vegetable. Regarding the Cubs, you can pick and choose all kinds of (mostly bad) surprises from this season, but none more so than this: last week, the Chicago Cubs were swept for the first time all year.

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Depending on when you decided to check your phone, the Cubs drew as close as 2.5 games back of the third and final Wild Card spot a week ago. With a chance to claw their way back to the .500 mark for the first time since mid-June, the Cubs took off for Cleveland, and it did not rock. A Shota Imanaga start has been the Cubs’ closest thing to a “Get Out of Jail Free” card this season. The team is 17-6 in his starts, and he possesses an almost supernatural ability to calm things down for his club, not on this day. Despite an eight-run output from the Cubs, including production from the growingly consistent Dansby Swanson, the Guardians used a splashy, four-run fourth inning to shift the momentum in this one. JhonKensy Noel, the man locally known as “Big Christmas,” took advantage of questionable umpiring and hammered a two-out, two-run shot off Imanaga. The Guards added three more in the 5^th inning, proving sufficient enough to survive a late-game rally from Craig Counsell’s club.

Final Score: 9-8 Cleveland

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One of the more unpleasant trends of this Cubs’ season is not knowing when a start from a typically reliable pitcher, like Javier Assad, will transform into a kinda-sorta bullpen day. Though the Guardians were largely kept off the scoreboard at Progressive Field, so were the Cubbies. The North Side club struck first in this one with an RBI knock from the Cubs’ shortstop, Dansby Swanson, and that was it. The day belonged to former Detroit Tiger Matthew Boyd, who cruised through 5.1 innings of work, striking out six Cubby batters. Tough losses spiral into other tough losses, which happened here.

Final Score: 2-1 Cleveland

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Like an underrated Fall Out Boy deep cut, the Cubs were “Dead On Arrival” in the series finale versus the Guardians. Let’s get right to it: The Cubs didn't show up in a game featuring the mostly steady Jameson Taillon toeing the rubber. Scrounging up just one run on a measly five hits, the Guardians caught the Cubs with their guard down. Last week, we spoke about a Cubs offense that has produced at a much more impressive clip since just before and after the All-Star break (over 4.5 runs per game), but the team masquerading as a professional baseball team on this day went 0-6 with RISP. In Chicago, as the Bears get ready to kick off the regular season, one can feel a certain “passing of the torch” from baseball to football; it felt like a Brian Urlacher sack in this one.

Final Score: 6-1 Guardians

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With the Cubs largely playing better baseball in the last few weeks, the narrative centered around how easy the squad’s remaining schedule is when compared to the other clubs vying for a postseason berth. Considering that, the North Side ball club hosted the similarly mediocre Toronto Blue Jays for a three-game set. The Cubs used Craig Counsell’s favorite play, the home run, to generate most of their offense in game one of this tilt. With long balls from Cody Bellinger, Pete Crow-Armstrong, and Miguel Amaya, the Cubs resuscitated its dormant offense from the previous two contests. Nothing came easy as the Cubbies survived a late rally from the Jays, taking the game on a clutch walk-off single from Seiya Suzuki in extra innings.

Final Score:6-5 Cubs

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The only thing better than a home run is a first-pitch lead-off home run from one of your squad’s most trusted veterans. Enter Ian Happ, who did exactly that on a hot Saturday afternoon at Wrigley Field, on a day when Chicago-native Stephen Colbert stopped by to serenade the Bleacher Bums and everyone else at 1060 West Addison with the seventh inning stretch. Excellent fielding and even more excellent bullpen play kept things in check for the Cubs after a greatly curtailed outing for Justin Steele, who managed just 2.0IP. Cubs take the series.

Final Score: 3-2 Cubs

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I don’t know a better way to say this, so here goes: The Cubs got flipped the bird by the Blue Jays in the closer of this three-game series. In turn, the loss screwed over Cubs fans' hopes of warding off the Sunday scaries with a sweep for the home team and not meant to be. It’s hard to fault Shota Imanaga for much, even in a season where everyone in the clubhouse deserves a portion of the blame for how this season has played out. He pitched five innings and surrendered four hits, including a round-tripper to Jays’ center fielder Joey Loperfido. From there, the Cubs’ previously notoriously anemic offense made a surprise return; they managed a scant four hits, no runs, left six on base, and went 0-6 with RISP. Willy Mays Hays put on better hitting displays when trying out for this same Cleveland organization.

Final Score: 1-0 Blue Jays

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As fans, journalists, enthusiasts, or general followers of the ball club, we’ve endured a lot this season. In my prior recaps, I’ve referred to the Cubs as disappointing, underachieving, even hopeful at times, but never disappointing. In no uncertain terms, this week was disappointing. Saddled with a record of 61-64 and a full five games back in the Wild Card, the team must press on and fight. Up next, the Cubs host the Detroit Tigers for three before heading to Miami Beach for a weekend series with the Marlins. I’ve always been more of a Motown guy than a Pitbull guy, but here, once again, is a chance for the Cubs to make some memorable music before the house lights come on.

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