The Cubs just completed a 3-6 road trip. They were outscored 41-33 and those numbers are only that “good” because the first game of the trip was a 7-1 win over the Rangers.
After that they were shut out twice and had some bullpen failures.
Hopefully, some home cooking this week will help them get back on track. Even with the bad week, going 2-4 in Atlanta and on the South Side, the Cubs still lead the NL Central by 1.5 games.
Here’s who was hot and not for the Cubs over the past week.
Three up
Alex Bregman’s bat is heating up
Bregman is on an eight-game
hitting streak. Over the six games in Atlanta and against the White Sox, Bregman batted .385/.429/.538 (10-for-26) with a double, a home run, three RBI and six runs scored. Now that the weather is getting warmer, hopefully Bregman’s power will return. He has hit just four home runs in 46 games so far this year.
Ben Brown seems to have taken to being a starter
After no-hitting the Rangers for four innings, Brown continued his good pitching with four one-hit innings against the Braves on Thursday. He struck out seven [VIDEO].
In addition, he has an improved pitch mix [VIDEO].
Maybe this starting pitcher thing will work out for him after all.
Jacob Webb has become a member of the Circle of Trust
Webb had a rough start to his 2026 season but over the week, threw 3.1 scoreless innings vs. the Braves and White Sox, allowing one hit and striking out five of the 12 batters he faced.
For the month of May: Seven appearances covering nine innings, 1.00 ERA, 0.667 WHIP, two walks, 11 strikeouts.
Craig Counsell could use some reliable relievers and Webb appears to be one of them now.
Tip o’ the cap to Michael Conforto for his home run Sunday that tied the game in the ninth, even though the Cubs lost the game.
Three down
Phil Maton, ugh
Maton started poorly and went on the IL in early April with a 13.50 ERA.
On his return he allowed two runs to the Padres in his first game back, then had a few scoreless outings. But this past week he allowed two runs to the Braves in a single inning, then had trouble getting outs against the White Sox. Result for the week: 2.2 innings, 16.88 ERA, 2.626 WHIP, two home runs allowed.
For the season: 9.49 ERA, 1.784 WHIP, three home runs in 12.1 innings.
And he’s under contract for next year, too. This looks like a bad mistake by Jed Hoyer.
Dansby Swanson’s bat has vanished
Swanson was in such a bad slump that Counsell gave him Saturday off. In the other five games: 2-for-17 with six strikeouts. He’s now batting .192/.302/.351 for the season with 38 strikeouts in 151 at-bats.
He does continue to play good defense, though. Here’s a slick play he made in Atlanta last Thursday [VIDEO].
Colin Rea got rocked
In two starts over the week against the Braves and White Sox, Rea threw nine innings and allowed nine runs (9.00 ERA), 13 hits and two walks (1.667 WHIP) and served up a pair of home runs.
Rea was good as a fill-in starter last year and for most of April this year, but these last two starts are concerning.
A note about Moisés Ballesteros, who was 1-for-11 with three strikeouts and didn’t play in the last two games vs. the White Sox: In his last 14 games since April 28, Ballesteros is 3-for-46 (.065) with 11 strikeouts. It might be time for him to spend a few weeks at Triple-A Iowa to get regular at-bats.
