Cubs Week in Review: North Siders Prove They Are Team To Beat, But Also Are Beatable

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Image courtesy of © Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

Since 1876, the baseball team known as the Chicago Cubs have delighted (and dismayed) multitudes of fans from all corners of the Earth. As such, there's little uncharted territory. They've been here before, but arguably, they've never arrived at this point in quite this fashion. Another bout of adversity looms, but the team had a profitable week as they marched closer to both the All-Star break and the MLB trade deadline.

The Cubs couldn't get off the ground against the Astros last weekend, but a winning surge to begin the week made that feel like a thing of the past. Matthew Boyd dazzled his former squad, the Cleveland Guardians, earning his eighth win of the year with a 7-inning, 5-hit performance. Boyd, who might earn an All-Star nod by the time you read this, is on a long list of the Cubs most responsibile for the team's prosperity. The league's leader in RBIs, Seiya Suzuki, belted yet another home run in a 5-2 Cubs victory to begin a three-game set.

Throughout the months of April and May, the North Siders stacked up series wins. That was their focus this week, too. In his second start back from injury, Shota Imanaga gave up a trio of solo shots to the Guards, but settled in for 5 1/3 innings of decent ball. Regardless of whom the Cubs scoop up at the trade deadline, Imanaga's brilliance and resolve make him a legitimate candidate for their Game 1 start. The National League All-Star center fielder, Pete Crow-Armstrong, delivered a clutch performance and an RBI triple in the fourth inning of a 5-4 win for the Cubbies.

Hovering around .500 in extra-innings contests this year, free baseball hasn't exactly been a comforting sight for the Cubs. Stirring feelings of 2016 nostalgia and ecstasy, the North Siders earned a three-game sweep Thursday night in a 10-inning thriller at the Friendly Confines. Along with another perfect appearance from the underrated Chris Flexen, Cade Horton punched in his best work as a big-league pitcher, with seven scoreless innings. Broom in hand, Clark the Cub ascended to the top of the iconic center field scoreboard to celebrate Matt Shaw's sacrifice fly to win the ball game 1-0. 

Riding a three-game win streak, the Cubs had the St. Louis Cardinals seeing firework red in the first of a three-game set, set off on America's birthday. The Cubs made history in front of another sellout crowd, clubbing a franchise-record eight home runs. With the Wrigley faithful in an absolute frenzy, Crow-Armstrong (the city's unofficial mayor) and sensational first baseman Michael Busch combined for five long balls. The rest came from Dansby Swanson, Carson Kelly, and Suzuki. It was one of those July days that puts October in your nose.

Unfortunately, sharing the hangover of millions across the Chicagoland area, the Cubs came up short on Saturday. Trailing from the jump, the team made less than a full feast out of one scoring opportunity after another, stranding a total of 10 runners on base and hitting just 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position. They still managed to fashion a late-inning lead, but Brad Keller had his worst appearance of the year, surrendering five runs in the fateful eighth. The North Siders were able to get one back in the bottom half of the frame, but could not prevail in an 8-6 loss. 

At the outset of the Sunday night rubber match versus the Cardinals, the club is playing a great, sustainable brand of baseball. At this stage of the season, Chicago's primary focus is putting distance between themselves and their division rivals. What comes of the trade deadline will be the most impactful toward this end, as the acquisition of key pieces (like starting pitching, particularly in the wake of Jameson Taillon's injury) could have Chicago dictating their own postseason narrative. The next chapter starts now. 

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