The early formula for this team has been get a good start and win. Get a rough one and lose. The difference so far has been striking. The two previous wins were both by way of Quality Starts. The Cubs remain 2-0 when getting a QS. But they’ve moved to 1-3 when not getting one by way of a borderline pitch that didn’t end up being an inning-ending strikeout. That would have gotten Cub starter Matthew Boyd out of the inning Wednesday with six scoreless. Instead, he left with two on and due to some less than
exceptional defense, the Angels did put up a couple of runs. But the bullpen slammed the door over the final three and preserved the win.
Speaking of striking, Cub pitchers tallied 16 strikeouts. If you were watching the TV broadcast, they told you that it has been a number of years since the staff reached 17 K’s. They came up just short today. This pitching staff isn’t particularly known for its swing and miss, so this one was probably a particular kind of unicorn. That said, keep an eye on the early trend with Matthew Boyd who’s struck out 17 in just 9.1 innings in the early going. Those are eyepopping numbers and certainly unsustainable. But he’s generating quite a bit more swing and miss in the early going than he has in his career. His stuff didn’t appear to vanish as quickly this time as it did in the opener. Hopefully, we are looking at a pitcher who didn’t get a normal build up through Spring Training due to the World Baseball Classic.
With all of those strikeouts, the Cub defense wasn’t called on much. But that defense figures to be the calling card of this team. Cold April games haven’t put their best foot forward yet, but they’ll be fun to watch as the season moves along. It’s not hard to imagine this infield as a historically good one, with a talented fielder all around the horn. It’s always worth noting that a defense like that is likely to make a whole lot of pitchers better. Between preserving pitch count by making plays, a pitcher doesn’t have to depend quite so heavily on strikeouts when they can trust their defense. This team defense not only should make the overwhelming majority of the routine plays, but also more than their share of highlight reel plays.
I still think when all is said and done that this is a special group. They didn’t particularly look it on this homestand. But they did manage the split and now they head out on the road to appear in two other team’s home openers. They’ll face a Cleveland team that had a rough series in Los Angeles and a Rays team that struggled with a tough early season road trip, a compelling early season challenge.
Three Positives:
- Matthew Boyd: 5.2 IP, 20 BF, 2 H, 2 BB, 2 R (1 ER), 10 K. Yes, please. More of that.
- Nico Hoerner: Two doubles on a three-hit day. He scored one, drove in one and stole a base. I like him at the top of the order. Though I do get his value in the middle of the order too.
- Michael Busch got the start against a lefty and came up with a pair of hits, drew a walk and scored a run. He’s kept right on rolling to start 2026. He should rightly appear on everyone’s lists of most underrated players (as should Nico).
Game 6, April 1: Cubs 6, Angels 2 (3-3)
Reminder: Heroes and Goats are determined by WPA scores and are in no way subjective.
THREE HEROES:
- Superhero: Matthew Boyd (.200). 5.2 IP, 20 BF, 2 H, 2 BB, 2 R (1 ER), 10 K (W 1-1)
- Hero: Nico Hoerner (.131). 3-5, 2 2B, RBI, R, SB
- Sidekick: Alex Bregman (.090). 1-3, 2 BB, RBI
THREE GOATS:
- Billy Goat: Ian Happ (-.062). 1-5, R
- Goat: Dansby Swanson (-.041). 0-3, SF, RBI
- Kid: Pete Crow-Armstrong (-.011). 1-4, RBI
WPA Play of the Game: Nico Hoerner batted with a runner on first and no outs in the third inning. He doubled into the left-centerfield gap, scoring the first run of the game. (.135)
*Angels Play of the Game: With runners on first and third and two outs, the Cubs led the Angels 5-1 in the sixth. Jorge Soler grounded a ball towards Alex Bregman. Bregman didn’t come up with it and the Angels cut the deficit to just three. (.058)
Cubs Player of the Game:
Game 5 Winner: Ben Brown received 55 of 83 votes.
Rizzo Award Standings: (Top 3/Bottom 3)
The award is named for Anthony Rizzo, who finished first in this category three of the first four years it was in existence and four times overall. He also recorded the highest season total ever at +65.5. The point scale is three points for a Superhero down to negative three points for a Billy Goat.
- Michael Busch +4
- Miguel Amaya/Edward Cabrera/Jameson Taillon +3
- Shōta Imanaga/Phil Maton -3
- Alex Bregman -4
- Matt Shaw -5
Up Next: A trip to Cleveland. The Guardians are off to a 4-3 start. Cade Horton (1-0, 2.84) is expected to start for the Cubs. Joey Cantillo (0-0, 4.91) will make his second start of the year for Cleveland. Cantillo was 5-3 with a 3.21 in 95.1 innings for them last year. He made 34 appearances, managing to start 13 games and also close 10 of them and even recording a save. Last year he was 4-3 as a starter with a 2.96 ERA. He was 2-2 with a 3.65 ERA at home. No pushover. But give me Cade. Every time.
