Chicago Cubs right-hander Javier Assad has a knack for getting out of tough spots.
Even when his stuff isn’t the sharpest or he struggles to command his pitches consistently, Assad often finds a way to limit the damage. Assad showed again Wednesday why the Cubs trust the 27-year-old to navigate tough spots. Although the Minnesota Twins made him work, forcing him to throw 75 pitches in four innings, Assad held them to two runs despite three hits, two walks and a hit batter.
The Cubs lineup capitalized on Twins reliever Trevor Richards entering the game in the third inning for an injured Joe Ryan, drawing five walks and putting up three runs to help fuel an 8-2 win at Wrigley Field.
“They had an injury, unfortunately, and we did a nice job taking advantage of that — we had very patient at-bats,” manager Craig Counsell said. “Kept moving the line with making Richards throw a whole bunch of pitches.”
The Cubs (57-60) got home runs from Michael Busch (solo) and Ian Happ (two-run), and the Twins managed just four base runners over the final five innings. The series victory gave the Cubs a 5-2 homestand entering Thursday’s off day ahead of a two-game weekend series against the White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field.
“I’m sure there’s more people like me in here that are thinking about the one Cardinals loss (Saturday), would have been nice to go 6-1,” outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong said. “But a really good homestand overall.”
1. The bullpen continues to roll.
For all the ugly Cubs losses and their disappointing position in the National League wild-card race, the bullpen has been one of the best in the majors for more than two months.
Since June 1, the bullpen’s 2.68 ERA leads MLB and ranks second in home-run-to-fly-ball rate (7.7%), third in Left on Base Percentage (80.3%) and sixth in WHIP (1.17).
Counsell credited the additions of right-handers Tyson Miller and Jorge López, left-hander Drew Smyly’s consistency and the emergence of right-hander Porter Hodge for stabilizing the pen.
“Those guys have been excellent and doing a heck of a job, and they’re getting their outs,” Counsell said.
Miller tossed 3 2/3 scoreless innings over the homestand, allowing only one of the 12 batters he faced to reach base. Two of López’s 3 1/3 shutout innings against the Cardinals and Twins came in Wednesday’s series-clinching victory, while Smyly didn’t give up a run in his one inning of work, part of a stretch this month in which he allowed one run in 4 1/3 innings.
If the Cubs somehow make a charge up the wild-card standings, the bullpen’s steady performance will play a huge role in that effort.
2. Christian Bethancourt provides an impact.
Although Miguel Amaya continues to get the bulk of starts behind the plate, veteran catcher Christian Bethancourt is finding ways to make an impact when he’s in the lineup.
The Cubs improved to 5-0 when Bethancourt starts after he collected two doubles, a walk and RBI in Wednesday’s victory. Since being called up from Triple-A Iowa on July 26 — roughly three weeks after signing a minor-league deal with the organization — Bethancourt is 6-for-14 with four extra-base hits and five RBIs.
“He’s contributed offensively in a pretty significant way in all (five) games,” Counsell said. “So to pick a guy up and have him contribute like that, can’t ask for anything more.”
Wednesday’s performance marked the 11th time in his career that Bethancourt recorded multiple extra-base hits in a game, last occurring June 30, 2023, with the Tampa Bay Rays.
“Not trying to do too much,” Bethancourt said of his approach. “Obviously, when the wind is blowing in (at Wrigley), there’s only so much you can do. So just trying to hit the ball hard, trying to hit the ball on a line drive and see what happens.”
3. Contributions from top to bottom boost the offense.
A top-heavy lineup too often has been forced to carry the offensive load this year.
The Cubs have needed more from the bottom third of the order, and they finally started seeing some production during the homestand, led by Dansby Swanson and Crow-Armstrong. The duo went a combined 16-for-46 (.348 average) with five extra-base hits and eight RBIs over the seven games.
“We’re just getting contributions from nine guys right now on any given day, and that makes all the difference in the world, I think,” Counsell said. “It allows you to be consistent, which I think we’ve done a pretty good job of these past couple weeks, and that’s the key to this team being good offensively.”
Swanson’s and Crow-Armstrong’s offensive emergence has been an important development individually too. Swanson has been mired in one of the worst offensive seasons of his career, and Crow-Armstrong needs to show he can deliver a more patient approach at the plate. There are short- and long-term consequences for both players’ offensive production. The Cubs must hope those encouraging signs continue over the final seven weeks.
“Just going in every at-bat confidently,” Crow-Armstrong said. “That’s kind of the feeling that I want to keep. I think it’s important remember what these kinds of things feel like but just kind of really hone in on how I’m gonna approach each pitch.”
