This is a jumbo edition of this feature because of the long days Monday and Tuesday. So this will encompass the six games the Cubs played last week against the Blue Jays and Pirates as well as the three so far this week against the Brewers.
Here’s who was hot and not for the Cubs over those nine games.
Three up
Owen Caissie, your table is ready
Caissie had a rough game in his MLB debut, being robbed of an extra-base hit on the very first MLB pitch he say by Davis Schneider of the Blue Jays. Then he didn’t play against the Pirates except one
pinch-hit at-bat on Sunday.
He got his first MLB hit in Monday’s game and then homered and drove in three in Game 1 of the doubleheader and went 1-for-2 in the nightcap. Add a couple of nice catches near Wrigley Field’s unforgiving brick wall and Caissie sure appears MLB-ready.
Here’s his first MLB home run [VIDEO].
Drew Pomeranz keeps putting up zeroes
Over the nine games, the left-hander made four appearances covering 4.1 innings. He allowed three hits and no runs and struck out four of 16 batters faced.
At age 36, Pomeranz is putting together an outstanding relief seasons, one of the best of Jed Hoyer’s under-the-radar acquistions (from the Mariners for cash considerations).
Jameson Taillon’s return was brilliant
I couldn’t have said that after the first two innings he threw on Tuesday, when he allowed four hits and a run and threw a ton of pitches.
After that, though, Taillon settled down and pitched like he did during a 13-start run earlier this year when he posted a 2.99 ERA (which is much like he threw most of last year). If he can continue this, that is an enormous boost to this team.
Here’s more about Taillon’s start on Tuesday evening [VIDEO].
Three down
Whither Kyle Tucker?
You all know about Tucker being given some time to reset. This is a good idea, obviously he has struggled for more than a month. He began to be booed at Wrigley Field after he failed to run out a ground ball on Sunday. Here’s what Tucker said about that:
I understand both points of view here. He was being booed for lack of effort. He’s having a tough time and has shown his frustration, unusual for a guy who is usually very quiet and even-keeled about his work.
I would guess Tucker won’t play the remaining games in the Brewers series and then will return on the Cubs’ road trip. Perhaps the few games off will help him reset. They really do need his bat down the stretch. Hoping for the best for Tucker.
Ryan Brasier, wow
Many thought Brasier might be DFA when Taillon returned, but he was retained on the roster despite posting a 17.36 (!) ERA over his last six outings, with 11 hits and two home runs in 4.2 innings.
That did not fill Cubs fans with confidence when Brasier entered to throw the eighth inning of Game 2 on Tuesday. But he retired the Brewers in order, helped by a nice leaping catch by Michael Busch [VIDEO].
Brasier had been pretty useful up until late July. Hopefully he can recover that; the Cubs could use that performance going forward.
Dansby Swanson is still struggling
Over the nine games, Swanson batted .207/.226/.310 (7-for-29) with three doubles. You can see he’s doing all right, at times — thus the doubles — but he also struck out six times over the nine games and often looked really bad doing it.
He’s still playing good defense, though. Here’s a nice grab he made on Saturday [VIDEO].
