The Cubs went 6-1 on their road trip to New York and Milwaukee, so this weekly review winds up heavy on the “Three up” side.
Hopefully, that continues on the upcoming homestand against the Padres and Cardinals.
Here’s who was hot and not for the Cubs on the road trip.
Three up
Dansby Swanson was a hitting machine in New York
Swanson hit .438/.412/1.188 (7-for-16) in the four-game series against the Mets. (The OBP is lower than the BA because he had a sacrifice fly and no walks.)
Among the seven hits were three home runs, including a grand slam, and he had 15
RBI in the series, which is a record for any team in a four-game set vs. the Mets – and he did it all in the first three games!
That accomplished this:
Here’s the grand slam, hit in the first game of Wednesday’s doubleheader [VIDEO].
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Bryse Wilson stepped up
Here’s a guy who had an absolutely awful year for a 102-loss team last year (the White Sox). The Phillies used him in one game this year and put him on waivers. The Cubs picked him up and used him as the “bulk guy” Sunday basically because they didn’t have anyone else.
He came through with 4.1 shutout innings. Which matched a Hall of Famer’s performance for the Cubs:
Amazing. Well done, Bryse. Hopefully he can continue to contribute to the Cubs this year.
David Peterson’s Cubs debut was a success
… although his first Cubs pitch wasn’t. It was hit for a home run by Jackson Chourio.
After that, though, Peterson was lock-down. 5.2 innings, only four other hits and one more run, no walks. He’ll definitely benefit from the Cubs infield defense. I’d expect him to go Friday or Saturday against the Cardinals.
Three down
Dansby Swanson was an out machine in Milwaukee
It looked like Swanson was finally coming out of his slump with the big series in New York.
Then he went 0-for-12 with four strikeouts against the Brewers. Granted, he was facing much better pitching in Milwaukee. Still, I hope he can recover his NY form at Wrigley this week.
This is the first time anyone has made both “Three up” and “Three down” in the time I’ve been doing this series.
Alex Bregman: Still cold as ice
While his teammates were having an excellent trip, Bregman batted .091/.250/.136 (2-for-22) in the seven games, with six strikeouts. This month he’s hitting .181/.324/.253 (15-for-83) with four extra-base hits (three doubles and a home run) and 15 strikeouts. The walks at least make the OBP somewhat useful, and he’s still playing excellent defense.
One of his doubles drove in an important run on Thursday [VIDEO].
Ethan Roberts needs a reset
Roberts was very good for most of this season, but on the trip: two innings, four hits, five runs (four earned), three walks, no strikeouts. He nearly blew Sunday’s game before Jordan Wicks (!) locked it down.
Roberts might benefit from a trip to Iowa. For now, at least.
