The Chicago Cubs: Hitting Their Stride
The Cubs managed to put together a ten-game win streak, which requires winning games in many different ways.
A streak of this length is not something many teams can accomplish, but this group is unique.
There were games when they were hitting so well that the baseball must have looked like a beach ball, and there were games when the pitchers did the heavy lifting.
That is the beauty of a long winning streak in baseball: you get to see each part of a team excel.
For Cubs fans, experiencing this has left them with complete confidence that, no matter who is on the schedule, the Cubs can get the win.
The winning streak started after what was arguably the lowest point in the season.
The Cubs had just lost a series to a division rival, the Pirates, and the next day allowed 13 runs to the Phillies in a loss to the series opener. Since that game, this team has been scorching hot. In the next 10 games, they would average 7.2 runs per game and a margin of victory of 4.1 runs. It felt like everything was going the Cubs way.
The offense was producing, the starting pitching was putting the team in position to win every day, and the bullpen was holding teams off. And the brilliance of the roll that the Cubs were on was that if one of those areas had a bad day, it seemed like the other parts of the team were always there to pick them up.
As Dansby Swanson told Marquee Sports Network after winning their tenth game in a row:
“This is a team effort, and it’s been so many different guys throughout this stretch here, and that’s the whole purpose of having a team.”
This also points to one of the wonders of baseball. The rosters are large, and the game has multiple facets. When played the right way, a true team in baseball can be a wonderful thing.
It was fascinating to watch the Cubs win games in a multitude of ways. They were able to win by scoring 10+ runs, pitching duels, and utilizing a comeback, which certainly kept fans on the edge of their seats. During this run, the offense scored ten or more runs three separate times. The final scores of those contests were 10-4, 11-2, and 12-4. There were also low-scoring affairs where they won by scoring just four runs, and even as few as two runs against the Mets in extra innings. These games showcased the quality of the Cubs’ pitching. Jameson Taillon had a six-inning, one earned run start, and Javier Assad went five and two-thirds innings and allowed only one earned run. The great part about these two wins in particular was that the bullpen allowed zero runs, which was crucial in helping out the offense in these games where there wasn’t much production from the lineup.
Both the offense and pitching were great in this stint, but you can’t accomplish a streak like this without having a few comebacks.
The Cubs had two walk-off wins during this period, and a noteworthy comeback against the reigning champion Dodgers in a Friday night primetime matchup. These comebacks speak to the character of this team; they never give up when they are down. They were down by four runs heading into the seventh inning against the Dodgers, but still rallied to win their tenth in a row.
Any doubts surrounding this team after a rather underwhelming start are certainly gone after what they showed over the last two weeks.
After this remarkable period of baseball, there is a confidence around this team that every day they have a strong chance to win. The irony in this confidence is that the Cubs are nowhere near full health; they still have so many injuries.
It will be a treat to see what this club turns into once they are fully healthy.
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Categorized:Cubs