Chicago Cubs: Offensive outbursts breed cautious optimism

In the first two games against the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Chicago Cubs heated up the bats, playing in what seems like a playoff atmosphere nightly.

The Cubs scored 14 runs in the first two games against the Arizona Diamondbacks, with the signs of breaking out written all over this series. Then, the offense fell back into its non-existent state on Wednesday in a shutout loss.

So what gives?

Javier Baez stayed hot, hitting huge homers in back-to-back games to open the set. Anthony Rizzo has had fantastic approaches at the dish, including a 17-pitch at-bat on Tuesday that ended with a line out. And Daniel Murphy returned to the lineup with two hits and a homer, indicating that he may finally be getting back on track.

But perhaps most importantly for Chicago, Kris Bryant and Willson Contreras are looking like themselves again.

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Bryant notched another extra-base hit on Tuesday night after homering on Monday for the first time since July 20, and has been hitting the ball to all fields since coming off the disabled list.

Contreras had been much-maligned as of late, with his power stroke from 2017 seemingly gone. And despite tallying just one hit in nine at-bats against Arizona in the first two games, Contreras had continued the trend exhibited against Cincinnati of hitting balls hard and staying within himself at the plate.

Continued fluctuations

This offensive performance should not be taken lightly. Granted, Chicago’s offense has fluctuated practically all season long, but given that this series – and practically every game until the end of the regular season – holds major playoff implications, it is notable that the Cubs have seemingly started to find their groove at the dish.

That said, this should merely be cause for cautious optimism. Remember, the Cubs led the MLB in both runs scored and run differential in the second half of the 2017 season, but they scored just 25 runs in 10 postseason games and had a -23 run differential. Eventually, the Cubs bowed out to the Dodgers in the NLCS, as the bats could not save a shaky bullpen.

Maybe this season will be different. Ideally, the return of Bryant and a revitalized Murphy should galvanize the Cubs’ lineup heading into October and make them one of the most dangerous offenses in the playoffs. As ESPN Cubs beat writer Jesse Rogers writes, Chicago’s wealth of dangerous left-handed bats should be a major factor against opposing bullpens.

But with Joe Maddon‘s own bullpen ailing down the stretch, it is not a stretch to feel like the onus is on the offense. The Cubs would like to put games away early, just as they did on Tuesday night in Arizona. But that is easier said than done in October, when the stakes are ratcheted up and the margin for error is very slim.

So while this recent offensive surge is inherently positive, it likewise should not be cause for over-excitement.