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Chicago Cubs: Who’s hot, who’s not after strong homestand
The Chicago Cubs put together an impressive 10-game home-stand in which they went 8-2, winning all three of their series. Some players were red-hot, clicking on all cylinders and others had a home-stand they’d like to forget.
The Chicago Cubs currently sit in first place atop the NL Central after defending Wrigley Field over their last 10 games. They swept the then division-leading St. Louis Cardinals, took three of four from the Miami Marlins and then took two of three from the Milwaukee Brewers in the rain.
The Cubs victories included dominant pitching from the starters and relievers and some memorable walk-off home runs. One of those clutch walk-off’s came from one of the hottest hitters on the planet, Kris Bryant.
If not for George Springer, it would be hard to argue Bryant not being the hottest hitter in baseball over the last 10 games. He’s simply hitting everything in sight and showing great patience at the plate.
Over his last 10 games at Wrigley Field, Bryant is slashing .352/.522/.882 which over that span is the best on the Cubs. He’s launched five home runs, driven in 12 RBIs and scored 13 runs.
The hit that really seemed to get it all going for Bryant was his grand slam on Sunday Night baseball against the Cardinals. It was the exclamation point on the way to a Cubs 13-5 victory but showed Bryant was starting to look right at the dish. That started a stretch where Bryant would hit a home run four out of the next five games for the Cubs.
His biggest hit came in the bottom of the ninth inning with the Cubs and Marlins tied at 2-2. With two outs, Bryant delivered a line drive home run into the basket to give the Cubs a 5-2 victory.
On the other hand, Jason Heyward is someone who is really struggling at the plate. Don’t let his walk-off home run against the Marlins deceive you. While it was undoubtedly a big moment for him and the Cubs, that’s really all he did during the home-stand. That home run was one of just four hits for him over the home-stand while he posted a lowly batting average of .103.
While Heyward struggled to hit, he also struggled to get on base. He only walked three times while he struck out eight times to the tune of a .167 on-base percentage.
To make matters worse, he served as the Cubs leadoff hitter in four games, so he wasn’t doing a great job of setting the table for the offense. As the Cubs leadoff hitter, Heyward went 3-20 and struck out three times.
Maybe the idea of him batting leadoff messed with his approach at the plate or maybe he just went through a slump at the plate. Either way, Heyward has been enjoying his best year at the plate as a Cub so hopefully, he makes some adjustments.
Chicago Cubs: Two starting pitchers on opposite ends of the spectrum
I don’t think you can really say enough about just how good Kyle Hendricks pitched in his two starts over the home-stand. In his two starts, the right-hander tossed 17 innings and didn’t allow a single earned run to score. He struck out 10 batters and didn’t allow a single free pass and only surrendered one extra-base hit. He was simply untouchable and in complete control from start to finish.
In his first start, the professor threw a magical 81-pitch complete game shutout against the Cardinals. It was a start very reminiscent of former Cubs pitcher, Greg Maddux. Of his 81 pitches thrown, 63 of them were strikes. He allowed just four hits, all of which were harmless singles in what was easily his best performance of the season.
Hendricks followed that up with another dominating performance against the Marlins. He threw eight more innings, in which one run scored due to Hendricks’ own throwing error in the first inning. Aside from his blemish in the first inning, Hendricks pitched lights out the rest of the way, striking out seven and allowing just five hits.
In my opinion, Hendricks should have thrown his second complete game in as many starts but Joe Maddon elected to pull him after the eighth inning. Hendricks and thrown 96 pitches but also just retired the side in order. Maddon should have at least let him start the ninth inning and if he ran into any trouble, then go get him.
While Hendricks was in complete control, Yu Darvish was anything but. He combined to pitch eight innings in his two starts while walking a total of 11 batters. He walked five against the Cardinals and walked six against the Marlins. He simply did not look sharp as he posted a 6.75 ERA.
He was hit around much more in his first start against the Cardinals, as he allowed five earned runs. He surrendered six hits, four of which went four extra bases, including a solo home run. He started the fourth inning but following back-to-back walks, he was pulled from the game. If not for Taylor Davis’ clutch grand slam, Darvish and the Cubs likely would have lost the game.
Darvish’s next start against the Marlins was much different, but it still wasn’t a good one. He only surrendered one hit and stuck out seven batters but his six walks really caught up to him. He struggled to throw the ball over the plate as he only threw 50 of his 97 pitches for strikes. Maddon pinch hit for him in the bottom of the fourth inning and elected to have reliever Mike Montgomery pitch the last five innings for the Cubs.
Chicago Cubs: Two relievers who have pitched up and down
After a slow start to the season, Steve Cishek was the best reliever out of the Cubs bullpen over the successful home-stand. He pitched six innings of scoreless baseball while allowing a lone inherited runner to score. He struck out five batters, walked two and allowed just one extra-base hit.
Due to the Pedro Strop injury, Cishek appeared in some high leverage situations for the Cubs. His biggest moment came in the ninth inning on Sunday night against the Brewers. He entered with a 4-1 lead and set down the side in order to earn his second save of the year.
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Cishek also earned his first win of the season in the Cubs 5-2 victory over the Marlins when Bryant hit his walk-off home run. The right-hander pitched a scoreless ninth inning to keep the game tied at 2-2. He struck out the first two batters before allowing a harmless single and recording a ground out to end the inning.
On the flip side, Kyle Ryan started his season hot but has run into some hard times on the mound. He only pitched in 2 2/3 innings over the home-stand but he surrendered two earned runs on the way to a 6.75 ERA.
Ryan, unfortunately, put the Cubs in some tough spots as opposed to getting them out of them like he was previously doing. Everyone surely remembers the game against the Marlins where instead of throwing home to get the out, he threw to first and allowed them to tie the game in the ninth inning.
In Hendricks start, the one where Hendricks should have started the ninth, Ryan faced the first batter and allowed a leadoff single. That base runner eventually scored to tie the game and cost Hendricks what should have been his second straight win.
Where did the Chicago Cubs land in this week’s MLB.com Power Rankings?. dark. Next
Since he was called up on April 6, Ryan has been Cubs go-to lefty out of the bullpen. Since then the Cubs have gotten Montgomery and Xavier Cedeno back from the injured list. Their return will certainly limit Ryan’s time and could even spell the end for him, especially when Strop is ready to return from the injured list.