After getting swept in their opening series, the Cubs head back to the United States with a lot on their mind. Despite their poor performance, there is a silver lining: It’s two games out of a total of 162. The Cubs will need to learn and grow from the things they didn’t execute well on to evolve into the contenders Cubs fans hope they can be this season. Let’s recap how that series went.
The Good
The experience
Despite getting swept it still may have been a good experience for the Cubs. Not only did they help grow the global brand of Major League baseball, but the players had a fun experience they would never forget.
But more importantly, this was a good experience for the Cubs to get to play a World Series contender early on. They got an up-close experience to see how a world series champion team executes on all levels. They got to face some of the best pitchers in the world and were challenged on every level. Sometimes being challenged like the cubs were can be a benefit later down the line as it grows their resilience.
Jon Berti in Game 2
Despite only getting playing time due to the Nico Hoerner injury, Jon Bert was good for the Cubs in Tokyo. Except for a game-one error, Jon Berti may have been the best player for the Cubs in Tokyo. Berti registered three hits in game two in addition to swiping a bag. While his playing time will likely be limited once Nico Hoerner returns, it is good to know the Cubs have a guy on the bench who can get on base
The Bad
The starting pitching
Shota Imanaga and Justin Steele were given the ball in the two-game series against the Dodgers. Despite both having great 2024 seasons, neither were at their best in Japan. Imanaga was admittedly better than Steele, but he was unusually wild and gave up four walks in his four innings of work This is extremely odd given that his career high for walks in a game was just three prior. Although he did battle to give up zero runs to a potent dodger lineup, his command will need some fine-tuning before his next start.
Justin Steele was also not at his best. Steele makes his living on location and avoids hard contact, and he did neither for the Cubs on Wednesday. In four innings of work, he allowed five earned runs, five hits, and two homers. While he may have gotten squeezed on a few borderline pitches, his command wasn’t as sharp as it normally is.
Realistically speaking, it’s not sensible to panic over the Cubs duo of aces in the long term. It is fair to say however that they didn’t do much to help beat the world champions in Tokyo.
The offense
None of the Cubs hitters were able to do much damage in the two-game series against the DOegrs. The Cubs scored just four runs on just eleven hits. The Cubs did not homer and had only two extra-base hits the entire series. Seiya Suzuki specifically was disappointing as his 0-8 felt lackluster given the circumstances.
The Ugly
Hitting with RISP
As was a theme of last season, the Cubs were unable to do damage when they had runners in scoring position. If nothing else, the Cubs hitters were patient in this series and willing to take their walks. The Cubs registered seven walks in game two with five coming against Roki Sasaki in his three innings of work. Those walks would amount to just three runs.
The Cubs had several circumstances with runners on and the ability to tie the game on one swing of the bat. But unfortunately, that wouldn’t come to pass. Between hitting into double plays, or strikeouts from multiple hitters in a row, the Cubs did not take advantage of opportunities.
Ben Brown
Ben Brown looked shaky in his first appearance of the year. Brown entered game one after four shutout innings from Shota Imanaga. He would respond by pitching 2.2 innings and allowing 2 runs, 4 hits, and three walks. His five strikeouts were impressive, but his command seemed erratic and his velo was a bit below what we saw in 2024.
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