Chicago Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson, top, forces out Seattle Mariners’ Jorge Polanco (7) at second base and makes the throw to first for the double play against Mariners’ Ty France to end the eighth inning of a baseball game Sunday, April 14, 2024, in Seattle.
Lindsey Wasson/AP Photos
PHOENIX – When the Cubs began the season with some shaky defensive performances, the trend wasn’t expected to last.
“I don’t think we’ve played our caliber defense yet,” president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said after the Cubs’ opening series in Texas. “I thought one of the things that we were really good about last year was playing clean games and playing really good defense. So we just haven’t yet.”
Early this season, any mistakes in the field have been even more glaring because of the state of the rotation. Though Javier Assad and Ben Brown have filled in admirably, the Cubs have a smaller margin for error without lefty Justin Steele (strained left hamstring) and Jameson Taillon (strained back).
Over the past couple weeks, the Cubs defense has gradually shored up. In a six-game homestand, it wasn’t perfect, but several Cubs had game-altering web gems. And this past series in Seattle,featured back-to-back close wins made possible by staunch defense.
The Cubs enter a three-game series against the Diamondbacks on solid defensive ground, with reinforcements coming. Taillon threw a bullpen Monday in Arizona and is scheduled to start “early in the homestand,” according to manager Craig Counsell, which begins Thursday against the Marlins.
Already this season, second baseman Nico Hoerner has accumulated quite the highlight reel on defense. One play in particular stood out to him.
“The diving play up the middle was probably the best play I’ve made as a second baseman,” he said in a recent conversation with the Sun-Times.
In the first game of the Cubs’ series against the Dodgers at Wrigley Field last week, the Cubs’ 6-2 lead was in danger in the top of the fourth inning. The Dodgers had runners on second and third with two outs. Gavin Lux was up, with the fearsome top of the Dodgers batting order right behind him.
Lux hit a sharp ground ball up the middle – what should have been a one- or two-run single. But Hoerner made a diving stop, adjusting to a high hop in mid-air, popped up and threw a dart to first base to get out of the inning. The Cubs went on to win that game 9-7.
“I had one play in college as a shortstop that I felt like was ahead of that,” Hoerner said. “But as far as game situation, and early in the year, and just excitement, and to impact the game like that, that was one of my favorite plays I’ve ever made.”
In Seattle, third baseman Christopher Morel had a career game on defense. He kept the sixth inning of the Cubs’ 4-1 win Saturday from spiraling out of control with back-to-back reaction plays at the hot corner.
Then the Cubs’ 3-2 win Sunday ended on a defensive high. They got out of both the seventh and eighth innings with double plays to maintain a one-run advantage.
“There’s a lot of layers to it,” shortstop Dansby Swanson said, listing preparation, positioning and pitchers making big pitches.
Closer Adbert Alzolay sealed the game in the ninth inning, with a quick move to first base, and a nice tag from first baseman Michael Busch, to pick off Julio Rodríguez for the final out.