CHICAGO – The Cubs have been waiting for Michael Busch to really find his rhythm in the batter’s box this season. There have certainly been signs of offensive life for the first baseman of late, and Busch knows what it will look like as he continues to feel more and more like himself at the plate.
“I’m at my best when I’m able to hit the ball the other way,” Busch said, “but also pull the ball in the air with some good spin.”
That is the version of Busch that showed up in Friday’s 6-5 win over the D-backs.
Busch delivered an opposite-field single in the first inning that got the Cubs’ offense rolling and later drove a double bouncing deep into Wrigley Field’s right-center-field gap. Those were two more data points that offer evidence that the first baseman is finding his footing – another great development for a lineup already operating as one of baseball’s best units.
One reason Chicago’s offense was so dangerous during last year’s run to a postseason spot was that Busch blossomed into a legitimate power threat. He led the Cubs with 34 home runs, posted an .866 OPS and was then one of the hottest hitters on the October stage.
Busch’s opening month was mostly cold this year, but no one expected that to last.
“You look at his track record,” Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner said, “and who he’s always been as a hitter, and what he did the last two years for us, and I think it’s fair to expect just a lot more of a good version of him.”
Hoerner pointed to Wednesday in San Diego, where Busch connected on a 98.3 mph fastball from Padres closer Mason Miller and flew out to the warning track in center field at Petco Park. The result was not there, but it was a deep pulled fly ball against one of the Major League’s elite back-end arms.
In Friday’s win, Busch had a trio of hard-hit balls with a pair of positive results.
Hoerner led off with a double in the first inning – before exiting with a minor neck issue in the next frame – to help set up a bases-loaded chance with two outs against Zac Gallen. Busch then attacked an elevated 1-1 fastball over the outer edge of the zone, sending it through the left side of the infield with an exit velocity of 101.6 mph.
Busch then flew out to the warning track in center in the third after getting just under a full-count curveball from Gallen. That flyout came with a 101.7 mph exit velo. And then in the fifth, Busch drove a pitch from reliever Ryan Thompson to right-center with an exit velo of 108.7 mph.
“When I get a mistake, it’s just finding a barrel and hitting something hard somewhere,” Busch said. “The last couple weeks have been a little better for me.”
Busch helped spark the first of two three-run outbursts for the Cubs, backing a solid start from Colin Rea and overcoming a comeback bid by the D-backs' lineup.
It marked the sixth time in Busch’s career that he had at least three balls in play each having an exit velocity of 101 mph or higher. In fact, this was only the second time this year a Cubs player achieved that feat. Moisés Ballesteros also had three balls in play at 101 mph or higher on April 7 against the Rays.
Busch’s showing on Friday pulled him out of an 0-for-11 funk over the previous three games, but that recent drought is misleading in terms of the recent progress from the first baseman. Prior to that mini outage, Busch had hit .308/.379/.462 over the preceding 13 contests (after posting a .118/.220/.157 slash line in his first 14 games this year).
It has all amounted to a .203 average and a .598 OPS so far through 31 games for Busch.
“Michael is kind of yet to just get on the good streak that kind of puts him back to where he needs to be,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “The [last] homestand he obviously had some big, big swings and got it going a little bit. But over the bulk of the season, he’s been off to a slow start.
“We were going to have that conversation about somebody, right? That’s just how a season works.”
Positive regression is also very much a part of a season, and Busch found some in Friday’s victory.
“His at-bats were really good,” Counsell said. “The takes were really good. That’s always a good sign. Very good day for Michael. Obviously, the hit in the first was a big one – a really big one – to play with the lead. Good day. Hopefully a good step forward.”