CHICAGO — The weather at Wrigley this week suggested offense may be hard to come by. With a Chicago Cubs lineup that put up 819 runs last summer still largely intact — and with the potential to be better — the team was hoping to rely on that group with starters Justin Steele and Jameson Taillon sidelined for much of the first month of the season.
The forecast of rain, snow and plenty of wind meant it would take more than just sending the ball in the seats to put up runs. But four games into their first homestand of the season, the poor April weather hasn’t stopped a highly potent offense. After a 9-7 win over the star-studded Los Angeles Dodgers, the Cubs (5-2) have won five straight and scored nine or more runs in four of those victories.
“The conditions probably make it all the more impressive, really,” manager Craig Counsell said. “It’s a really good start offensively for us. Just the at-bats throughout the lineup, that’s going to produce runs. Just tough at-bats. It’s certainly something that’s fun to watch.”
The temperature at Wrigley was a brisk 43 degrees at first pitch with a healthy 15 mph wind coming in from left field. That the sun showed up made it feel like the middle of summer compared to Wednesday when a mix of snow and rain fell for much of the night in blustery 36-degree conditions. That followed Tuesday’s 42-degree day with 20 mph winds. The Cubs’ offense scored a combined 30 runs in those three games.
Seiya Suzuki, who doubled in two to cap off a five-run second inning, is probably putting up the most impressive at-bats of the group. But he’s not alone. Dansby Swanson already has two home runs and a double. He’s taking his walks too, as are Ian Happ, Nico Hoerner, Cody Bellinger and Michael Busch. Busch’s at-bats have been calm and long and his hard contact was finally rewarded with his first home run as a Cub.
Michael Busch says baseball be gone!
First HR as a Cub 🙌 pic.twitter.com/LyRWUBXU9D
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) April 5, 2024
One could go on, but the point is likely made: This offense, from top to bottom is impressing early on.
“It’s amazing,” starter Kyle Hendricks said. “We know we have it. You know if we just keep us in a ballgame, give us a chance to win and most of the time they’re going to pull through. You saw it today, one good at-bat after another. Putting pressure on them, taking their walks. It’s really fun when you’re sitting in that dugout and seeing runs pile up.”
His final line (four-plus innings pitched and five runs allowed on eight hits) won’t show it, but Hendricks was significantly better than his first outing in Texas. The two runs he allowed in the first probably never should have happened as Happ missed a sliding catch due to losing the ball in the sun. But Hendricks seemed on point before having to face the terrifying top of the Dodgers’ lineup a third time.
“I turned to (pitching coach Tommy Hottovy) in the first inning and thought he was going to have a good day,” Counsell said. “I thought it was really good for sure. We couldn’t get out of the first inning. The third time through this lineup got him. That’s probably something that’s going to happen a lot to a lot of pitchers, unfortunately. It’s something you try to be cautious of but we had a pretty good lead at that point and it kind of made sense.”
Yes, Mookie Betts, Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman are going to give plenty of starters nightmares going forward. But Hendricks looked sharper than his last outing, getting seven swings and misses on his changeup, and actually held the Dodgers in check two times through.
But the story of the day was the bats. It’s a small sample and early-season stats can have a lot of noise — it helps to face a dreadful Colorado Rockies team — but this group looks relentless. Through their first six games, the Cubs lead baseball in walk rate (14 percent), strikeout rate (15.4 percent) and on-base percentage (.384). They chase less frequently than any team in baseball (20.8 percent) and do so while still attacking strikes (67.8 percent in-zone swing rate, eighth in the game) and making a ton of contact (79.4 percent, third in baseball).
“Early, hopefully, it’s become our identity,” Counsell said of the high walk rate and low strikeout rate. “It’s really hard to do those two numbers. But it’s a sign of the at-bats that we’re taking and how guys are grinding them out. Swinging at the right pitches, putting the right pitches in play, fouling off the tough pitches. It’s certainly a formula for success.”
After Bobby Miller struck out the side in the first, the Cubs only struck out once more the rest of the way. Miller, one of the top pitching prospects in the game, impressed in his season debut, striking out 11 St. Louis Cardinals and walking just one while allowing just two hits in six shutout frames. But by forcing him to throw 41 pitches in the second, Miller couldn’t even finish two innings against the Cubs.
.@LieutenantDans7 gets us on the board! pic.twitter.com/CpZ2MDeBLY
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) April 5, 2024
Swanson started it off by sending a 2-0, 98-mph heater through the wind and into the left-center field bleachers. It was another rocket off Swanson’s bat, something he’s been doing consistently early, at a healthy 106.5 mph. Suzuki’s double was hit at 106.7 mph. Busch hit a 109 mph homer in the third and Happ added a two-run triple in the sixth that was clocked at 108.6 mph.
“We’re just having really good at-bats,” Happ said. “First series getting a couple of those games under our belt, our offense has just been super consistent. We hit a few balls really hard in Texas that we didn’t get rewarded for. Consistency of the offense, having really good at-bats and everybody really stringing them together, giving ourselves a chance.”
So far, this Cubs lineup is proving to be one of the best in the game. If they can stay healthy, perhaps they can make a name for themselves and show that last season wasn’t a fluke. For now, they’ll enjoy getting a win against one of the best teams in baseball at Wrigley in front of nearly 35,000 on a cold, windy day in Chicago.
“It’s going to be a long season and there’s going to be a lot of challenges,” Hendricks said. “But this is a fun, exciting one obviously. Really good challenge early for us to see where we stand. The crowd was amazing, just an amazing atmosphere. The sun being out today — just a really fun game to be a part of.”
(Photo of Michael Busch: Michael Reaves / Getty Images)
