The Cubs avenged their Tokyo series slump with a thunderous victory at Chase Field against the Diamondbacks. The Cubs offense came alive, and the pitching did just enough to clinch the 8-5 victory.
Another off night for Steele
The only negative for the Cubs was pitcher Justin Steele. While he made improvements from his 5 earned run performance against the Dodgers, he isn’t quite back to being the typical Justin Steele we have come to know. His final stat line of three earned runs in five innings with six hits allowed was perhaps a bit better than the eye test would indicate.
His pitches got hit in the air often, which is atypical for Steele. He deserves some credit for salvaging an ugly start into just three earned runs in five innings against a great Diamondback lineup.
An offensive explosion
The Cubs’ offense more than picked up the slack. They harassed Diamondbacks Ace Zac Gallen in his four innings of work. Gallen allowed four runs, four hits, and four walks to the Cubs. While he certainly wasn’t at his best, the Cubs did a good job of staying patient, taking their walks, and doing damage on hittable pitches.
The MVP in this game for the Cubs was Ian Happ. He stuffed the stat sheet today with a homer, double, three RBIs, and a walk. His steady presence in the Cubs lineup has been underrated for years, and it’s good to see he is continuing his 2024 success.
The speed of Pete Crow-Armstrong continues to be a problem for opposing teams. Not only did he swipe a bag, but he beat out a throw to second on a routine grounder to the shortstop. This blunder extended the inning for the cubs and was directly proceeded by a Miguel Amaya 3-RBI double.
The Cubs continued their harassment of Arizona pitching when Ryan Nelson relieved Gallen in the fifth. They blitzed him for four runs in 1.2 innings, which included five hits.
Prized offseason addition Kyle Tucker quieted some of the noises surrounding Cam Smith with a nice night as well. The former Astro nearly sent the first pitch he saw into the stands, before singling later in the game. He also made a nice catch in right field, validating his starting spot over Seiya Suzuki in the field.
Miguel Amaya would add another double in the 9th to extend the Cubs lead to 10-5.
A late Diamondback rally
The Diamondbacks would not go down without a fight. A sixth inning rally on Nate Pearson made out the games in arm reach for Arizona. They loaded the bases and were able to add two runs to shrink the Cubs lead to 8-5.
The Diamondbacks had Cubs fans biting their fingernails in the latter innings of this one. After gaining some momentum on Nate Pearson, the Diamondbacks looked to tie the game in the final three innings. But the trio of Claeb Thielbar, Porter Hodge, and Ryan Pressley closed the door on Arizona before they could do so. As a result, the Cubs earned their first victory of the year by a score of 10-6.
There were lots of positive signs for the Cubs in their domestic opener. The Cubs get the first win of the series on the road against Arizona’s ace. The Cubs will avoid perennial Cy Young contender Corbin Burnes this series and face Merrill Kelly tomorrow night.
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