Cubs Take Epic Series with Milwaukee by Split Decision

[RavenCub30]

Image courtesy of © David Banks-Imagn Images

The Hunt for Blue October is in full swing and, fresh off of a fortune-changing series win against baseball's best team, the Cubbies are lurking in the trenches. When a weather postponement earlier in the year transformed the Cubs versus Brewers four-game August series, into a five-game mega-tilt, Chicago's North Side club was playing in much closer proximity to first place in their division. It had seemed that this series we just witnessed was essentially a title fight for the division crown, positioning the victor for a deep playoff run full of spoils.

What played out was much different: Blazing through an improbable run of success, the Brewers created an almost insurmountable gap between them and the next challenger. Meanwhile, that next challenger, your Chicago Cubs, spiraled into an unexpected slide marked by untimely injuries and futile offensive production. Chicago had been playing like a team looking for answers to the wrong questions, but, lockdown defense, edge-of-your-seat pitching, and an extraordinary debut stretch from Owen Caissie put the Cubbies right back where we thought they'd be: on an express train to the postseason.

Wise sages and pundits have often said that anticipation is the greater reward, and so one would be forgiven in their overreaction to pitching matchups, hitting streaks, and slugging percentage fluctuations versus right-handed or left-handed pitchers. Honestly, what we witnessed in Game 1 of this series, what was supposed to be the first of a split doubleheader, did not surprise anybody who has grown familiar with the Cubbies' post-trade-deadline struggles. Impressive rookie Cade Horton was forced out of the game early with a blister on his middle finger. Not only did the Brew Crew convincingly blank the North Siders, they even turned the tables on Chicago's fabled "Wrigley North" travel efforts, echoing "Let's Go Brewers" chants throughout the Friendly Confines. 

What happened next is the stuff of dreams, or at least the stuff of a documentary on a premium streaming service. One day removed from a sobering loss which set the club 9.0 games back in the division, the Cubs grinded out a delirious, harrowing, doubleheader sweep of the Milwaukee Brewers. With his first Major League hit under his belt, young pup Owen Caissie set the North Side of Chicago ablaze with a shade even more vibrant than his flowing locks. Caissie cashed in three absolutely enormous RBIs, including a late solo shot which gave his team a crucial insurance run, inciting a roar louder than a Kendrick Lamar set at Lollapalooza.

 

As the orange sunset turned into darkness at Wrigley Field, Jameson Taillon took the hill for his first start since his return from the injured list, spinning a storybook outing peppered with guts and clutch pitches. Beyond him, a massive missing piece to the Cubbies' puzzle for success was any modicum of situational hitting. But not on this night. Throwing the ginger phenom back out on the field for a well-deserved encore, Craig Counsell rolled Caissie back out into the starting lineup and he continued his impressive debut stretch. Caissie not only squares up enormous hits, he's doing so with a rare sense of confidence and appreciation that make him seem impervious to the pressure of the moment. Despite the loss in the series' finale on Thursday, the Cubs played like a team that wants the postseason designation next to their name. If you're a 'trust but verify" type of person, please see Willi Castro gun down Brice Turang to end the Crew's late rally in this contest.

Don't contest this fact: The Cubs are a good team. In taking three of five from their division rivals, they didn't necessarily change the narrative, but they changed the theme of the book. What lies within the clubhouse of 1060 West Addison is a club that is primed for a playoff run, and who can play with anybody. Mining success from unexpected sources, the North Siders' alchemy of youth and veterans make them the threat we thought they were. Let me answer the question that's on your mind: Are the Cubs back in business? It sure seems that way.

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[Connor McConnor]

Epic?