On this night, I have a silver lining. Now your mileage may vary, but for me? I’m not even frustrated anymore. I’ve moved on to apathy. These losses are no longer catching me off guard. It’s been a long day, travelling from Tampa to Jackson, MS by way of a stop in Atlanta. So forgive me if I’m reading my notes wrong, but I’m seeing the Cubs at 7-21 in their last 28 games. 27-24 over 51 would be perfectly fine. But I’m pretty sure sequencing matters here.
Long story short, the Cubs were never as good
as that 20-3 run that they had. Also, they are better than the 7-21 run. But, I think the key is they are closer to the more recent team than that team in the past. That’s bad news. The injuries to key starting pitchers appears to have over exposed a number of pitchers who can’t be expected to go out every fifth or sixth days and battle against major league talent while also giving the Cubs a reasonable chance at victory.
Tuesday night wasn’t an unfamiliar story for the 2026 Cubs. Colin Rea allowed a pair of homers. Of course, that can happen pretty easily in Colorado. But it was complicated by three walks and a hit batsman. Two of the walks and the hit batter scored. On just walks and homers, that totals to five runs. The Cub offense produced some traffic, but only managed three runs. The other runs just kept digging the hole for the Cubs.
Multiplying the issues were all seven runs Rea allowed scoring in the first three innings. That tilts things so hard. With the bases empty, an opposing pitcher doesn’t have to give in against a Cub slugger. With runners on base, an opposing pitcher and the defense can focus on just not letting an inning spiral out of control and allow a big crooked number. As trouble arises, the Rockies can go to the pen and get a fresh arm in there without really having to break into their better arms.
Long story short, all too easy for the Rockies to score a win. They are a team trying to advance some youth and figure out how to win again after a few years of putrid baseball. On Tuesday night, they were a young team having a lot of fun. Maybe the Cubs still rebound and win a series. It’s bad when it’s been so long since this team has won a series that I can’t really remember which series they last won.
It appears the Cubs have a little over a month to talk to their corner outfielders about how nice it would be to find their own silver linings by getting a chance to go to a team with a chance to win and be a part of it. Both of those corner outfielders have no trade clauses and they are probably the two best fits for trading otherwise. This season has all of the funeral march vibes of 2021 without any of the upside of really interesting trade chips that might bring in some talent to help the future.
Three Positives:
- Michael Busch had just one hit, but it was a homer. He trails only Ian Happ for the Cub OPS lead. He’s come a long way after a slow start. He also drew a walk that was one of the more interesting points in the game.
- Alex Bregman had two singles, a sacrifice fly, a run scored and an RBI. His best game in some time.
- Ian Happ drew a pair of walks.
Game 67, June 9: Rockies 7, Cubs 3 (34-33)
Reminder: Heroes and Goats are determined by WPA scores and are in no way subjective.
THREE HEROES:
- Superhero: Alex Bregman (.044). 2-3, SF, RBI, R
- Hero/Sidekick: (tie) Carson Kelly/Ryan Rolison (.021). Kelly: 1-1; Rolison 1.1 IP, 5 BF, H, BB, K
THREE GOATS:
- Billy Goat: Colin Rea (-.318). 4.2, 26 BF, 9 H, 3 BB, 7 ER, 2 K, HBP (L 5-4)
- Goat: Seiya Suzuki (-.063). 1-4, RBI
- Kid: Miguel Amaya (-.049). 0-2
WPA Play of the Game: Hunter Goodman hit a two-run homer with two outs in the bottom of the first to start the scoring. (.160)
Cubs Play of the Game: Michael Busch walked to load the bases with one out in the third with the Cubs down five. The Cubs failed to get a hit with the bases loaded and less than two outs and were only able to get one run to reduce the deficit to four. (.042)
Cubs Player of the Game:
Game 66 Winner: Javier Assad 170 of 172 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.
- Michael Busch +20
- Ben Brown +11.5
- Pete Crow-Armstrong/Michael Conforto/Carson Kelly +10
- Ryan Rolison/Phil Maton/Jameson Taillon -8
- Caleb Thielbar -9
- Matt Shaw -10
- Dansby Swanson -11
- Seiya Suzuki -28.5
Up Next: Game two of the three game series Wednesday evening. Shōta Imanaga (4-6, 4.74, 76 IP) starts for the Cubs. Imanaga has allowed homers in six consecutive starts (14 total) and 10 homers over his last three starts. That’s a scary prospect heading to one of the most prolific parks in baseball history for allowing homers.
Michael Lorenzen is not only still pitching, but starting games for the Rockies. Neat. The 34-year-old is 2-8 with an 8.01 ERA and has started 13 times. Those numbers are garish. And yet, he’s only allowed 11 homers.
This game ought to be something. I’ll be travelling back home during this one and curious to see how it came out. The optimist in me isn’t dead. I suspect the Cubs win this one.
