When the Cubs decided to largely run it back with a team that pushed the Brewers to their limits before falling just short of the NLCS, one might have hoped it would have been relatively smooth sailing for this team in 2026. This looked, on paper, to be a top 10 team in baseball. I had them pegged a clear cut below the best teams, but comfortably in the second tier of teams. Nothing has been easy and they have not, in any way, appeared to be a top 10 team.
In reality, this team has looked decidedly
middle of the pack. Or perhaps a bit below. Of their six opportunities to date to be .500, they have been .500 five times. On Saturday, they’ll have their seventh opportunity to be at .500. Hopefully, they succeed again. A 50/50 record, in this instance, is better than the alternative.
So far, this team is hit or miss. The team has scored 39 runs in their six wins (6.5 runs/game). They have just 17 runs in their seven losses (2.43 runs/game). This team has already been shut out twice and scored only one run twice (winning one). They were shut out 10 times all of last year and held under two a total of 28 times. The results have been stratified and there has been very little offensive consistency, Hopefully, the return of Seiya Suzuki will give them a boost.
This one was all the more unfortunate because Shōta Imanaga was lights out. He faced 19 batters and struck out nine of them. He allowed no hits and just a single walk. You might recall that once before Imanaga started a game where the Pirates got no hits against Cubs pitching. I remember that one as I was driving home from a Rays game and listened to the last few outs of that game. It isn’t often that you can go into a game with a split of 0.35 ERA (career against the Pirates) and actually lower that number. It was that kind of day for him.
Unfortunately, the bats let him down and he has nothing to show for it.
Three Positives:
- Arguably Imanaga was so positive that all of the other performances pale in comparison.
- Ian Happ had a pair of singles and drew a walk.
- Carson Kelly had three walks and a single. The Cubs actually had six hits and drew seven walks and were held scoreless.
Honorable mention to Ethan Roberts (4 batters faced, 4 outs recorded) and Riley Martin (3 batters faced, 3 outs). They gave the Cubs every opportunity to come from behind.
Game 13, April 10: Pirates 2, Cubs 0 (6-7)
Reminder: Heroes and Goats are determined by WPA scores and are in no way subjective.
THREE HEROES:
- Superhero: Shōta Imanaga (.350). 6 IP, 19 BF, 0 H, BB, 9 K
- Hero: Carson Kelly (.145). 1-1, 3 BB
- Sidekick: Ian Happ (.100). 2-3, BB
THREE GOATS:
- Billy Goat: Caleb Thielbar (-.307). 0.2 IP, 5 BF, 3 H, 0 BB, 2 ER, 0 K (L 1-1)
- Goat: Pete Crow-Armstong (-.214). 0-4, DP
- Kid: Matt Shaw (-.185). 0-2
WPA Play of the Game: Bryan Reynolds batted with a runner on first and no outs in the seventh. He homered, breaking a scoreless tie. (.264)
*Cubs Play of the Game: Ian Happ batted with a runner on first and no outs in the sixth. He singled, setting up a golden opportunity. (.075)
Cubs Player of the Game: Imanaga, Kelly, Happ, other
Game 12 winner: Nico Hoerner 105-86 over Colin Rea (219 total 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.
- Edward Cabrera +6
- Nico Hoerner/Ian Happ (+1 today)/Carson Kelly (+2) : +5
- Phil Maton/Pete Crow-Armstrong (-2): -6
- Matt Shaw -7 (-1)
- Alex Bregman -7 (-3)
Up Next: Game two of the three game series. Edward Cabrera (1-0, 0.00, 11.2 IP) gets his third Cub start. He’s been superb so far. 26-year-old right-handed pitcher Braxton Ashcraft (1-1, 2.25, 12 IP) also makes his third start. His two previous starts were at home. In 2025, he was better away (2.45 ERA) than at home (3.00). But he only had a total of 69.2 big league innings last year. In 11 innings across three appearances last year, he allowed four runs (three in one 9/15 outing).
Let’s hope Cabrera is able to continue his dominance and the Cub bats break through.
FYI: I am on vacation for the next week. Heroes and Goats will continue to run, but you can expect me to be a bit more brief and the timing could be a little different. I appreciate your patience with us in advance.
