Chicago Cubs are off to their best start in over 50 years

The Cubs continue their historic start to the 2020 campaign despite experiencing bullpen turbulence.

While it has not been perfect, these Chicago Cubs keep winning ball games. They enter Thursday with the best record in the National League, sitting with 10 wins and only two losses. Another franchise milestone has been reached.

This underdog team is not shy when it comes to making history. To begin the season, first-year manager David Ross watched his starting rotation do something that had not been done since 1901.

Currently riding a six-game win streak, fans are on cloud nine. Following an uneventful offseason, the Cubs were not viewed as a threat. While the front-office worked out small deals, Cincinnati took advantage of the situation.

Last week, Chicago took two of three from the Reds, with the fourth game being postponed due to the weather. Had the game not been delayed, Chicago’s record could have been 11-2 heading into their series finale with the Kansas City Royals.

Either way, the red-hot Cubs have kept the train going, winning 10 of 12 games to begin the shortened season for the first time since 1969. The Beatles held their last ever public performance the same year. Not to mention, gas prices were at 34 cents per gallon.

That 11-1 team featured Hall of Famers Ferguson Jenkins, Ernie Banks, Ron Santo, and Billy Williams. Santo led the team with 29 home runs and 123 RBI while Fergy pitched 311 1/3 innings across 43 appearances.

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Over 300 innings pitched is unheard of these days and hasn’t been done since 1980. As of right now, right-hander Kyle Hendricks is second in the league with 20 1/3 innings of work. On Tuesday, the 30-year-old bounced back from a six earned run outing in Cincinnati.

He helped the Cubs record their ninth win by holding Kansas City to two earned runs on seven hits in as many innings. Offensively, both Jason Heyward and Jason Kipnis launched two-run homers to help support their starting pitcher.

Thankfully the bullpen managed to prevent the Royals from completing their ninth-inning rally as Craig Kimbrel failed to get the job done. There is no telling what is going through the mind of Kimbrel, but things need to be ironed out immediately.

Next up on the schedule are the St. Louis Cardinals. They have had their previous nine games postponed due to COVID-19, resulting in them sitting in fifth place with a 2-3 record. Despite the unfortunate events and early record, St. Louis is a dangerous team.

If the Cubs want to prove that their early start isn’t a fluke, this weekend series is the perfect opportunity to do so. Last season, the Cardinals took 10 of 19 games over the Cubs, winning five straight meetings dating early August through mid-September.