SAN FRANCISCO – Three wins in a row. Can we declare the Cubs officially “back”?
“I think if we can get past the point of people asking that, then we’re in a good spot,” manager Craig Counsell said before Saturday’s game.
Well, maybe it’s time to stop asking.
The Cubs scored their third straight win Saturday night – and won a series for the first time in 11 tries – a meager streak, sure, but something this bunch hasn’t experienced in more than a month. You have to go back to the close of their second 10-game win streak on May 8 for the team’s last tic-tac-toe.
Who knows if the Cubs are finally out of the woods, if an 8-22 stretch that dropped them from first place to .500 is completely in the rearview mirror?
But the last three days have looked more like it for a team with championship-level aspirations.
“This is kind of what we expected,” starting pitcher Ben Brown said after Saturday’s game. “This is what we’ve experienced a ton this year, and it’s just awesome putting some good games together.
“It’s fun to be a Cub right now. It’s always fun to be a Cub.”
The latest effort, a 6-1 takedown of the Giants, featured three more home runs as the bats have come to life on the back half of this trip out West. Center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong set the tone with a homer on the game’s first pitch – he finished a triple shy of the cycle – and left fielder Ian Happ and infielder Pedro Ramirez joined in on the fun with homers in the fifth inning.
Those fireworks were part of an 11-hit night for the Cubs, who scored in less powerful ways, too, with first baseman Michael Busch – who splashed down with a waterlogged home run a night earlier – scoring on an officially ruled steal of home (some wonky Giants defense was to thank) and drawing a bases-loaded walk.
The Cubs drew four walks on the evening and raved postgame about lengthy at-bats that jacked up their opponents’ pitch counts, signs of a successful approach. Indeed, opposing starter Trevor McDonald threw 92 pitches and didn’t make it out of the fourth inning.
This is the kind of thing they envisioned their offense doing.
“The last few days have been really good, overall,” Crow-Armstrong said. “Whenever you get everybody up five times [in a game], something’s going right, whatever that is. … Maybe when we haven’t been executing with guys on base lately, it’s nice seeing the ball fly out of the yard, for sure.”
“It was a good offensive night,” Counsell said. “We’ve had some struggles, but tonight is a night, when you grind out at-bats, you see the effect of it.”
Brown didn’t have the type of dominant outing that’s become commonplace in his breakout season, but despite significant traffic on the bases, he only allowed a run in his five innings, keeping his 1.74 ERA right where it was when he started the night.
What did look typically excellent was the Cubs’ defense, which has continued to be baseball’s best, even as the bats and arms have struggled during the last month. Busch made a great snag on a line drive at first base, and right fielder Seiya Suzuki threw a runner out at second and made a terrific sliding catch before leaving with right knee discomfort.
It was the Cubs’ third all-around performance in as many days, making you really wonder if they’ve escaped the grip of the last few weeks, when nothing seemed to go right.
Unsurprisingly, they’ll remain cautious on making such declarations – as they should: A couple walk-off wins on the last home stand proved mirages, despite their cathartic feeling.
Maybe what the Cubs needed wasn’t emotional, drama-packed victories but solid, boring ones.
Either way, a team trying to claw its way back to the top of the division will take it.