The Cubs finished up a stretch of 17 games without an off day with a 12-5 mark, which is likely better than any of us had hoped for when this run began.
And they did it emphatically, with yet another solid outing from Matthew Boyd and the bats going strong. All of that resulted in a 10-2 Cubs victory over the Royals, taking the series.
The Cubs wasted no time in taking the lead in this one. With one out, Michael Busch doubled and then the bases became loaded on infield singles by Alex Bregman and Ian
Happ.
Michael Conforto’s sacrifice fly made it 1-0 Cubs [VIDEO].
Boyd breezed through the first two innings, recording his first six outs on just 15 pitches. Then the Cubs made it 3-0 in the third. Busch singled with one out, his second hit of the game. After a fly out by Alex Bregman, Happ also posted his second hit of the game, a single, with Busch stopping at second.
Conforto singled in the Cubs’ second run [VIDEO].
Happ stopped at second on that hit, and then scored on this single by Nico Hoerner [VIDEO].
In the bottom of the third, Bregman flashed some glove on this low line drive [VIDEO].
The Cubs made it 4-0 in the fourth. Miguel Amaya led off with a single. Tyrone Taylor attempted a bunt, which resulted in a force play at second. Pete Crow-Armstong also hit into a force play. Busch followed with his third hit of the game, a single, with PCA stopping at second.
Bregman’s second hit of the day, a single, scored PCA [VIDEO].
Boyd then made his only real mistakes of the day in the bottom of the fourth, a one-out single by Salvador Perez, followed by a ball hit by Starling Marte that was absolutely demolished for a 413-foot two-run homer.
In the fifth, Boyd had a chance to show off some defense. With a runner on first and nobody out, Kyle Isbel attempted a bunt. Boyd caught it and turned it into a double play [VIDEO].
The Cubs began to put the game out of reach in the sixth. PCA led off with a walk, which he got in part helped by this ABS challenge [VIDEO].
A ground out by Busch advanced PCA to second, where he scored on Bregman’s third hit of the afternoon [VIDEO].
Happ, who also had three hits on the day, then smashed his 20th homer of the year to make it 7-2 [VIDEO].
I really, truly hope this is the beginning of one of Happ’s patented late season hot streaks. He went 5-for-13 in this series with a double and two home runs.
The Cubs put the game away in the seventh. Hoerner led off with a double and Swanson walked.
Miguel Amaya then hit a three-run homer, his fourth [VIDEO].
Boyd completed seven innings, throwing 98 pitches (64 strikes), a really good performance on a very hot day in Kansas City (90 degrees at game time).
About Boyd’s outing, from BCB’s JohnW53:
Matthew Boyd’s quality start was his sixth of the season, tying Colin Rea for second most among Cubs pitchers. Shota Imanaga has 10. Seven others have a combined 17, for a team total of 39, about one of every three for the season.
Here’s more on Boyd’s outing [VIDEO].
Ryan Zeferjahn threw the eighth and struck out a pair, including getting Bobby Witt Jr. on a 99 mile per hour four-seamer. So far, Zeferjahn looks like an excellent acquisition by Jed Hoyer.
Royals infielder Josh Rojas threw the ninth and allowed a leadoff single to Tyrone Taylor, but that was it. The Cubs thus matched their season high with 18 hits. More on that from John:
They had 18 twice before, in an 8-7, 10-inning win over the Phillies on April 23 and in a 16-2 rout of the Jays on June 19. Both were at home.
Their most on the road before this game were 17, in a 10-2 win at St. Louis on July 28.
Javier Assad came in for the ninth to wrap things up. He retired the Royals 1-2-3 on just five pitches. Here’s the final out [VIDEO].
A few more game notes from John:
This is the Cubs’ 16th game of the season with at least 10 runs scored — about one of every 7.5. They had 22 last season, 11 in 2024 and 24 in 2023.
Today’s win was the Cubs’ 48th straight with double-digit runs, since a 12-11, 10-inning loss at Arizona on April 16, 2024. Before that, they had won 32 in a row, so now they are 81-1 since they were outslugged by the White Sox, 17-13, on Aug. 27, 2021.
…
The Cubs scored three runs in the sixth and three in the seventh, allowing none. They have scored 84 runs in the sixth, eight more than in their second-best inning: the seventh, with 76.The Cubs are +34 runs in the seventh, their best, and +23 in the sixth, their second best.
Overall the Cubs left 11 runners on base — but at the same time, went 7-for-15 with RISP, which is a really good showing in that situation. Well done on all counts. The Cubs win another series and, as noted, went 12-5 in the 17-game stretch without an off day, just an outstanding performance. At this writing the Brewers and Twins are in extra innings, tied 3-3.
Lastly, as noted on the Marquee broadcast, the Cubs have now won eight straight road series — something not accomplished by the franchise since 1912 (!) — well done!
And so the Cubs will certainly enjoy their off day Monday, then will open a three-game series against the Nationals in Washington Tuesday. Shōta Imanaga will start the series opener Tuesday. At this writing the Nats do not have a starter listed at MLB.com, though it was mentioned on the Marquee broadcast that Jake Irvin will start for Washington on Tuesday. Game time Tuesday is 5:45 p.m. CT and TV coverage will be via Marquee Sports Network.
