CHICAGO – Maybe deeper into the season, when the statistical noise is greater and the sample sizes are much larger, a drought like the one Michael Busch is currently experiencing would not be as glaring. The skewed numbers posted for all to see on the video board in April, however, present a different mental challenge.
Busch has quietly developed into one of Chicago’s most dangerous and consistent hitters, but there just is no getting around the struggles he has experienced out of the gates this year. It reached the point before Sunday’s 7-6 walk-off win over the Pirates that manager Craig Counsell held the first baseman out of the lineup, offering Busch a moment to mentally recharge amid an 0-for-30 slump.
“This is just trying to give a reset to a player that’s a really good hitter,” Counsell said. “He’s just got stuck a little bit and is not having any success, not getting any results. I think sometimes just a day where you’re not in the lineup and you can go in the cage and work and not prepare for a game, but prepare to kind of make things better here, is helpful and puts you at ease.”
In the eighth inning, Busch came off the bench and delivered for the Cubs, slicing a pitch from Pirates reliever Justin Lawrence into left-center for an RBI single. A second run scored on the play -- thanks to a throwing error by left fielder Bryan Reynolds -- pulling the game into a 6-6 deadlock.
That set the stage for the Cubs’ final push in the ninth, completing a comeback from being down, 5-0, after two innings. With the bases loaded, Carson Kelly drove a pitch from José Urquidy deep into the right-center-field gap for the game-winning single, setting off the on-field party for the Cubs.
“For him to be able to come through in that situation is huge for him, and huge for us,” said Dansby Swanson, who scored from first base on Busch’s hit. “And it got us in position to win the game.”
“It just, I think, lets you take a big exhale,” Counsell said.
“It felt really good,” Busch said with a smile.
Busch headed into Sunday’s finale against the Pirates with the 0-for-30 spanning the eight games since a two-hit showing on April 1 in Cleveland. To show how swiftly a stat line can change this early, Busch was batting .286 with an .804 OPS after that game against the Guardians. The dry spell trimmed that to a .118 average and .377 OPS on the season, entering Sunday.
Cubs starter Jameson Taillon, who gave Chicago six innings after allowing a pair of wind-aided homers in the first two frames, did not even realize Busch had been stuck in such a dramatic slump.
“To be honest, I wasn’t aware of the 0-for-30. He’s so steady mentally,” Taillon said. “It’s not like he’s in a woe-is-me attitude or anything. He’s just working. He’s being himself. Still a pleasure to play with and be around. I really had no clue until I heard the broadcast say it. He’s super easy to root for. Great guy.
“He’s a huge reason why we played in October last year. He was one of our best hitters throughout the entire year. We’re going to need him. Hopefully, that gets him going.”
Last year, the 28-year-old Busch was one of baseball’s most productive first basemen, hitting .261/.343/.523 with 34 home runs, 25 doubles and 90 RBIs in 155 games. After that 4.6 bWAR showing in the regular season, Busch launched four more homers and posted a 1.128 OPS in eight postseason games as one of October’s star performers.
Busch knows not to overreact to an eight-game sample, as mentally trying as this recent stretch has been for the first baseman.
“It’s been pretty frustrating,” Busch said. “I think I’ve built a solid enough foundation to kind of try to get back and try to just continue to work.”
“I think balancing that through the season is challenging, and it always will be, but sometimes, it’s part of this game. I think when things are going this way offensively, you just try to find a way, whether it’s defensively or on the bases, to help this team win. At the end of the day, that’s all that matters.”
Counsell said the only thing he has noticed has been Busch maybe thinking too much about his swing while in the batter’s box.
“When you go into the at-bats, and they feel mechanical, that’s when you need a break,” Counsell said. “Everybody’s got their own mechanics, but when you get into the box, you kind of get rid of them. When they become the central thought of your at-bats, that’s when kind of the trouble happens.”
Counsell fully intended to give Busch the entire day off, too.
“But, there are situations that you also can’t leave him sitting there, right?” Counsell said. “We got to one of those situations. And he was going to be ready.”