This was not a vintage 2026 Cubs win, though another win by five runs is plenty acceptable. This one didn’t get out of hand and there wasn’t a lot of offensive heroics. Largely, the offense had one very good inning and the team rode that and really strong pitching to a second straight win. The pitching staff isn’t usually where the team finds its sweet spot. But that’s exactly where it has been the last couple of nights. To be clear, we aren’t out looking for style points right now. The Phillies
got hot right when the Cubs got cold. The top Wild Card spot very much looks like a fight to the finish now.
This was two straight where the driving force was the pitching staff. Things had been rough for the pitchers lately, so these two days have to be a big morale boost. As much as the guys in this locker room would tell you that they were still comfortable and confident, everyone is aware that the position players have been carrying this team. It’s really great that in their hour of need the pitchers stepped forward. Shōta Imanaga is a welcome, if a little surprising, player to step forward and get another win for this team. Imanaga gave them one run over six, allowing only three hits. Aaron Civale locked it down for his second save (both of the three inning variety). Civale has allowed four earned runs in 26.1 innings. That’s a 1.37 ERA. Cherry picked situation or not, he has answered the bell for this team.
Offensively, there wasn’t any one performance that jumps off of the page. Nico Hoerner had a three-hit game. Michael Busch had the team’s one homer. Pedro Ramirez was the only hitter to drive in two. It was a balanced attack. Six Cubs had hits. Five Cubs drew at least one walk, including Michael Conforto with two of them. It’s good to see so many chipping in. There are days for Pete Crow-Armstrong and Alex Bregman to shoulder all of the load. They can’t do it every day. And this team needs wins right now. I’m just going to keep saying it.
I wrote one day last week about how consistent this team has been if you pull back. Yeah, peaks and valleys. They happen to every team. If you get angry with Ian Happ constantly, this paragraph definitely isn’t for you. But when you drown out the noise, this is a 92ish win team. It’s been that way for a long time. That’s nothing to be ashamed of. If you want to be frustrated for what they might have been, that’s fine. I get it. It’s a fair thought.
I think back to one day a few months ago. I wrote about how unfortunate it is that this team got so swamped by pitching injuries. Some of my most loyal readers/commenters politely pointed out that it’s not like the injuries came out of nowhere. They stacked a ton of guys with lengthy injury history. I didn’t counter then, but I will now. That doesn’t mean that so many of them had to have worst case or near worst case scenarios. The points are fair and that’s why I didn’t push then. Obviously, those of you who pushed (and those who thought it) were right. This was clearly in the range of outcomes. But I have to believe there were possibilities in the range that would have had at least one or two of their real horses stay healthy and effective.
Still, this last five days has shown again, this team is in the fight. I don’t think any of us ever really, really bought in to this team. We all see the limitations. But these last five days, three really good starts. Two games that could have gone their way of they got any pitching. It kind of lays it all out there. The pieces are there. They aren’t the best pieces that will be on the field. I think the Brewers feel really confident against the Cubs and they should. But I don’t think anyone is super excited to play the Cubs though.
I’ll take it. In the fight. Not totally a lost cause.
Three Positives:
- Shōta Imanaga. I covered it in my look ahead. This Marlins team is not inept offensively. One run over six is good.
- In that same vein, I’m going with Aaron Civale for three scoreless innings to finish it out. Yes, it was low leverage, but he kept the entire bullpen fresh. The Cubs have now used three relievers over the last two games. Just past the halfway point of 13 straight games and you’re going to have guys that need to get in a game to stay fresh. Good problem to have.
- Nico gets my third nod. Three hits. One of them drove in a run. I’ve been a bit frustrated with him in the middle of the order. He has no pop really. So it’s good to see him have this kind of game.
- Plus Pete. PCA with a double, a walk, a stolen base and two runs scored. And a pretty excellent catch in center as well. Just continuing one of the best baseball seasons we’ll ever have the privilege of seeing.
Game 142, September 4: Cubs 6, Marlins 1 (80-62)
Reminder: Heroes and Goats are determined by WPA scores and are in no way subjective.
THREE HEROES:
- Superhero: Shōta Imanaga (.314). 6 IP. 21 BF, 3 H, 0 BB, R, 4 K (W 9-10)
- Hero: Nico Hoerner (.108). 3-4, RBI
- Sidekick: Ian Happ (.100). 1-4, BB, RBI, R
THREE GOATS:
- Billy Goat: Seiya Suzuki (-.074). 0-5
- Goat: Carson Kelly (-.070). 0-4
- Kid: Michael Busch (-.009). 1-4, HR, BB, RBI, 2 R
WPA Play of the Game: Ian Happ’s bases loaded walk in the sixth inning increased the lead to two with one out. (.088)
Marlins Play of the Game: Deyvison De Los Santos doubled leading off the third with the Marlins down one. (.073)
Cubs Player of the Game:
Game 141 Winner: Kevin Gausman received 85 of 104 votes.
Rizzo Award Standings: (Top 5/Bottom 5)
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.
- Alex Bregman +27
- Pete Crow-Armstrong +25.5
- Ben Brown +13.5
- Javier Assad +12
- Shōta Imanaga +11
- Nico Hoerner -13
- Jameson Taillon -13
- Seiya Suzuki -15
- Dansby Swanson -17
- Caleb Thielbar -17.5
Scoreboard Watching: Brewers won (+8 on Cubs). Braves won (+4.5). Phillies lost (-.0.5, Cubs own tiebreaker). Diamondbacks lost (-6). Padres lost (-5.5). Dodgers won (+4.5). A good day for the Cubs getting into the playoffs chances.
Up Next: Game two of the weekend three-game series is this afternoon in Miami. The Cubs will look for a third straight win and a series win. After that long stretch of series wins on the road, the Cubs have now lost their last two. The Cubs are 4-4 in this stretch of 13 games in 13 days.
The Cubs will slide Javier Assad into their weekend rotation allowing Clay Holmes an extra day of rest. Assad is 6-1 with a 3.46 ERA. He’s had a chance to stretch back out a bit for Iowa after working out of the pen for a while. He’s also got a rested bullpen ready to go behind him and an offense that is probably just about due to score 10 plus again one of these days. Ryan Gusto starts for the Marlins. He’s 1-3 with a 3.86 ERA. He doesn’t work particularly deep into games, but he’s allowed one earned run in 14 innings of work over his last three appearances. He hasn’t had a real dud since a bad outing against the Phillies on July 29 when he allowed six over five innings.
Find a way. Win another game.
