CHICAGO -- After waiting out a rain delay for nearly an hour, Cubs first baseman Michael Busch stepped back into the batter’s box in the first inning on Sunday afternoon and slashed a Merrill Kelly pitch into left field for a run-scoring single. It looked like Chicago’s offense was going to be off and running again.
Kelly then set down a career-best 16 batters in a row, quieting the Cubs’ potent lineup and setting a course for the North Siders’ 3-2, 11-inning loss to the D-backs.
“He’s a good pitcher,” Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner said. “We didn’t have a lot of hits with runners in scoring position. He’s a guy who throws a lot of strikes, but not a lot of good pitches to hit. It’s tough.”
Here are three takeaways from the Cubs’ series win over Arizona:
Almost through the gauntlet
The Cubs were not able to complete a sweep of the D-backs, but the North Siders did notch their fifth series win out of the last six. It has been a strong start, considering Chicago faced arguably the hardest schedule in the season’s first month.
“We’re in a pretty good spot,” Cubs starter Jameson Taillon said.
Sunday’s defeat knocked the Cubs’ record to 11-10 against the Dodgers, D-backs, Padres and Rangers so far this season. That includes three series on the road (Arizona, L.A. and San Diego) -- not to mention the Tokyo Series in mid-March against the Dodgers. Those four opponents combined have a .648 winning percentage (57-31 record) to date this year.
After the Dodgers and Phillies come to Wrigley Field in the week ahead, the Cubs will have an easier schedule to look forward to.
“We’ve faced great arms, great lineups,” Taillon said. “And I think we can play with anybody. It’s just a good reminder there.”
Which way is the wind blowing?
The Cubs headed into this season wondering which version of Wrigley Field would show up most often. The Friendly Confines was one of baseball’s toughest hitting environments in 2024 (91 park factor, per Statcast), but favored hitters more in ‘23 (101).
Cubs outfielder Ian Happ quipped earlier this weekend that he checks the waves on Lake Michigan on his commute in, and then the flags atop the old ballpark, to have an idea of what each day would bring.
This weekend gave the Cubs and D-backs the full Wrigley experience. Friday had wild conditions that led to a 13-11 slugfest. By Sunday, the temperature had dropped, the wind reversed course and belting a homer was a daunting task.
“I think everyone knew it was going to be a low-scoring game,” said Taillon, who limited the D-backs to one run over five innings around two rain delays (one that postponed the first pitch by 39 minutes and another that interrupted play in the first inning for 59 minutes).
Taillon did feel he could take something from the mentality he adopted in Sunday’s conditions.
“When the wind’s blowing in, it gives you a little more confidence to challenge guys,” Taillon said. “Today, there weren’t really that many hard-hit balls deep to the outfield for me -- maybe just pitching with that mindset. It’s kind of a good lesson of, ‘I can pitch over the plate and mix and compete over the big parts of the zone in a smart way.’”
Temporary outage for the offense
It would be easy to put a few costly miscues under the microscope in the wake of Sunday’s loss. Hoerner committed a missed-catch error at first on a sacrifice bunt in the 10th that led to an Arizona run. Veteran Jon Berti made a baserunning gaffe that led to a double play in the bottom of the 11th.
Cubs manager Craig Counsell pointed out the real issue.
“We also got four hits in 11 innings,” Counsell said bluntly.
That type of offensive lull has been rare so far this season for the Cubs. They currently lead the Majors in runs scored (145) with a blend of patience (97 walks lead MLB), power (.447 slugging percentage ranks second in MLB) and speed (31 stolen bases rank third in MLB). On Sunday afternoon, that group finished 2-for-13 with runners in scoring position.
“We’ve faced a lot of really good starting pitching,” Taillon said. “And I think we have the most runs scored in baseball, which is pretty cool. It seems like every time I look at the schedule, it’s like, ‘Oh, coming up we have Corbin Burnes, Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly.’ Those are three really dang good MLB starting pitchers, and we come out of here still with the series win.”