Cubs Week in Review: Club Enters Its "Disney Movie" Era

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Image courtesy of © Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

Depending on your age, you probably have some level of reverence for Disney sports movies. The feel-good tales, which reached ubiquity in the 1990s and early 2000s, feature scrappy but capable underdogs who inevitably—despite the daunting odds—triumph in the end. None of those fictional clubs had to deal with the injuries the Cubs are saddled with, though. Doing his best Gordon Bombay impression, Craig Counsell and his team stacked up a heartening string of much-needed wins, which left the rest of us wondering whether or not this squad really can pull off a Hollywood ending worthy of those beloved films. 

Threatening weather in Wrigleyville and Queens, respectively, gave the North Siders an unexpected two-day gap in competitions before kicking off their four-game set with the Mets at Citi Field last Tuesday. A resurgent Dansby Swanson and his squad's offense made it worth the wait. Feeding off the offensive energy of teammate Pete Crow-Armstrong, Swanson hammered a two-run shot to left field off Mets starter Kodai Senga, pushing Chicago's lead to 7-2 at the time. The standout shortstop collected four RBIs on the day to add to the three provided by Crow-Armstrong, whose excellence has become routine. While seizing a 9-6 victory in the opener, the squad once again had to reckon with crushing injury news, as starter Edward Cabrera suffered a multi-muscle leg strain while making a tough play covering first base. 

With gleeful supporters of Norway's men's World Cup soccer team looking on, Chicago's North Side Baseball club notched a cathartic sweep of the Mets in Wednesday's doubleheader. Javier Assad took the ball in Game One of the twin bill and, as he's been all year, was remarkable in 5 full innings of work. The story of this contest, however, was the way the whole club worked together, seeing strong showings from the offense and the pitching staff. Swanson's two-home run day set the tone for a team quickly rediscovering its potent offense at a time when it's an absolute necessity. Chicago's bullpen was magnificent, shutting down New York's brightest stars with a two-hit, zero-run combined outing from Ryan Rolison, Caleb Thielbar, and Tyler Ferguson. That allowed the visitors to cruise to a 10-3 win. 

Game Two of the doubleheader treated Cubs fans to excellent performances from Nico Hoerner and former All-Star starter Shota Imanaga. Length in starting pitching is not a luxury this squad has enjoyed at any point throughout this season, but with Imanaga's 5 1/3-inning outing serving as the latest example, they're starting to put things together a little more on the mound. Fans had waited too long for Hoerner's return to form, and that he found his way back in this contest earned the Cubs a hard-fought, high-offense sweep. His three-hit day kept his squad's offense on the field longer and allowed key rallies in the 10-5 win. 

With the series win secured, the North Siders turned their attention to a four-game sweep. Thanks to a cinematic go-ahead double into deep right field from Crow-Armstrong, they delivered. During the club's slow climb back into the division race, clutch at-bats from their biggest names have them building the momentum needed for long-term success. Instances such as Alex Bregman's RBI double point to a whole lineup of players getting back to their winning ways at just the right time. The 4-3 victory marked Chicago's seventh win in nine contests, earning it a winning record on this seven-game road trip.

To ascend to the game's highest heights is to accept certain undeniable truths. The Chicago Cubs, like it or not, are chasing the class of big-league baseball, Pat Murphy's Milwaukee Brewers, and must thwart them to summit the peaks on which their gaze is fixed. Facing Jacob Misiorowski (arguably the best pitcher in the game), they began that long, hard job the only way one can: with a first step. A solo shot from the piping-hot Seiya Suzuki briefly had the Cubs out in front of the Cy Young-contending fireballer. Alas, Ian Happ's failure to come through in a two-out, bases-loaded scenario against "The Miz" let the Brewers off the hook, ultimately escaping with a 6-2 win in the opener of a three-game set in which the Cubs pen showed its weakness. 

One day later, the Cubs earned their first win of the season against Milwaukee, in a fifth try. Recently acquired starting pitcher David Peterson settled in wonderfully after surrendering a first-pitch solo shot to Jackson Chourio to start the game. Peterson was locked in from that point, getting through 5 2/3 innings of work, while his new team's offense did the rest. Joined by long flies from Ian Happ and Michael Conforto, Suzuki went deep for the second-straight day, assisting his squad to a relatively pain-free 8-2 victory. 

With rising temperatures set to ignite summertime in Chicago, the Cubs delivered the statement win of the year Sunday afternoon in Milwaukee. Ryan Rolison's two innings kicked off a bullpen day versus the Cream City's best. Chicago's depleted bullpen rapidly became a glaring weakness for a squad that had labored, falling short of solutions around every corner. But in front of a screaming crowd of over 45,000, the squad's relievers (led by a remarkable 4 1/3-inning outing from Bryse Wilson) demonstrated it deserves mention among the league's most resourceful. A wild pitch allowed the Cubs to tie the game late, leading to a pulse-pounding extra frame that will have supporters clad in Cubby Blue talking for weeks to come. As he has done so often in recent games, Seiya Suzuki came up big. He pumped a two-run single into left field, putting his club up 4-1. Three grueling, high-blood-pressure outs later, the North Siders emerged with their best series win of the year by a final score of 4-3. 

Believing in the unimaginable is taxing for each sports fan, but if you belong to Generation Underdog, you can still do it. With the San Diego Padres coming to Wrigley Field next for a three-game set, the North Siders are (arguably) right back in the race for the NL Central, sitting just 5.5 games back of Milwaukee. While their proximity to the top is of paramount importance, what Chicago did this past week—going 6-1 on a marathon road trip amid injuries that could have scuppered their hopes for good—would make a good turning point montage in one of those films. Now, to see whether art can really inspire life.

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