PHILADELPHIA -- Nico Hoerner offers the type of offensive profile that creates trouble for opposing pitchers with runners on base. The Cubs second baseman is one of the toughest batters to strike out in baseball and makes contact at an elite rate.
Those traits made Hoerner one of the game’s best performers in the clutch last season, and they're why the Cubs view him as the heartbeat of this lineup. It played out again on Tuesday night, when Hoerner continued his strong start to this season with another pair of hits -- and driving in three runs in the process -- to help spark a 10-4 comeback win over the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park.
“It’s a challenge,” Phillies starter Aaron Nola said. “I’ve faced him quite a bit now. He’s fouled some of the craziest two-strike pitches off I’ve ever seen. It’s impressive. He doesn’t take any at-bats off, which makes him tough.”
Nola was tasked with facing Hoerner with one out and the fleet-footed Pete Crow-Armstrong on second base in the third inning, with the Phillies holding a 3-0 advantage. The right-hander got ahead of Hoerner, 1-2, but then the second baseman fouled off two of the next three pitches before sending a cutter into center for an RBI single.
Then, in the sixth, Hoerner’s spot in the order -- Cubs manager Craig Counsell has handed him the keys to the leadoff role -- came around with the bases loaded, one out and the game caught in a 3-3 deadlock. Hoerner fouled off two pitches from lefty Tim Mayza before roping a sinker up the middle for a two-run single that put the Cubs ahead for good.
“The at-bat where Nico drove in two was kind of a Nico at-bat,” Counsell said. “He’s going to put a ball in play. That’s the difference in a situation like that.”
Really, Hoerner has been the primary differencemaker out of the gates this year.
“He’s kind of the engine that makes us go right now,” Counsell said. “He’s doing a really good job offensively, and it’s kind of a continuation of what we saw at the end of last year.”
Through 17 games, Hoerner has hit at a .303 clip with 20 hits (including seven doubles and a homer) and an .852 OPS. His strong opening month comes after he finished second in the National League batting race last year (.297), then found another gear in the postseason (hitting .419 in eight games).
During the 2025 campaign, Hoerner also hit .371 with runners in scoring position, which was second to only Bo Bichette (.381) among batters with at least 100 plate appearances in those situations. Hoerner and Bichette tied for the Major League lead with 56 hits apiece with RISP last season.
“He’s started off really well,” Cubs third baseman Alex Bregman said. “I feel like he’s hitting all pitch types, making contact, swinging at good pitches to hit.”
Hoerner led the Cubs with 6.2 bWAR last year and headed into Tuesday night once again leading the team (1.4 bWAR) in that all-encompassing category. He had an 89.8% contact rate last season and entered play Tuesday with that ticked up to 90.8% this year. His 98.2% contact rate on pitches in the zone entering the night ranked third among qualified hitters.
“I do feel like I was able to get to some pretty special stuff toward the end of the year last year,” Hoerner said. “And I feel like a good version of myself right now.”
Hoerner was hardly alone when it came to offensive highlights in the latest win.
Bregman churned out three hits and collected three RBIs. Crow-Armstrong doubled and reached base three times. Ian Happ smacked an RBI double off the top of the left-field wall in the third. Carson Kelly launched a three-run homer in the ninth to spread the game open. Michael Busch reached base four times.
The all-around effort from the Cubs’ offense on Tuesday backed a solid six-inning performance from righty Colin Rea, who entered after lefty Riley Martin served as the opener for the first frame. Rea’s only misstep came in the second, when Edmundo Sosa belted a three-run homer. After that shot, Rea held the Phillies to a 1-for-17 showing.
That gave Hoerner the chance to spark an offense that has been trying to get into a consistent rhythm over the first few weeks.
“He’s awesome,” Bregman said. “I feel like we’ll get this thing rolling, and we’ll get guys locked in and be right where we need to be.”