By: Jake Russell
I realize I haven’t done a series recap in a while, but hopefully I can get back into posting them after this Pirates series–which was obviously a pretty brutal one, that ended the Cubs’ worst week of the season. They went just 2-5 against the Pirates and Braves, and fell to 4 games over .500 (though, to be fair, are still three games up for a Wild Card spot).
Really, the story of the series for the Pirates was great pitching. Jared Jones, Paul Skenes, Bailey Falter, and Mitch Keller all effectively shut down the Cubs one after another. While Jones, Skenes, and Keller are all good pitchers, seeing the Cubs struggle badly against Falter was rather disappointing. Granted, the Cubs were down multiple starters–Hoerner and Swanson both missed all series, leaving Madrigal and Mastrobuoni to cover the middle infield. Luckily, Hoerner and Swanson should both be back for the Cubs second series against Atlanta, but it definitely could have helped having them against Pittsburgh.
The Cubs pitching staff wasn’t even really poor, honestly. They beat up Hendricks on Friday, and scored five off Steele on Thursday, but couldn’t get much going on Saturday and Sunday. Unfortunately, the Cubs had that exact same problem. I don’t want to sound like a broken record here, but that was really the story of the series for the Cubs. The hitting just was not good enough. It’s a really good thing they were able to squeeze Saturday’s game out, but you can’t have to rely on that good of pitching all the time.
It’s also probably time for Hendricks to go. Now, I do understand there are a couple caveats to that. For one, the Cubs rotation depth has been decimated by injuries so far. That doesn’t help! And Hendricks is just about a month and a half away from 10 years of service time, which is not only a huge milestone for an MLB player, but also the point where their pension fully vests. The Cubs are very unlikely to not let Hendricks reach that point in a Cubs uniform. Of course, they could always place him on the IL again, though that feels unlikely.
I’m getting off track, but back-to-back poor starts against the Pirates is not a good thing. Hopefully, he can pick it up soon, but Jordan Wicks has begun his rehab assignment and will be challenging Hendricks for his spot back. (I covered this situation more in detail in my article for NorthsideBaseball yesterday).
On the bright side, Nico Hoerner and Dansby Swanson should both be back in the lineup today against Atlanta, with the Cubs reportedly replacing Luis Vazquez on the 26-man roster for Miles Mastrobouni. I like the Vazquez move a lot–plus defender, who has made some pretty solid strides at the plate this year:
He’s been a little bit cold lately, but hopefully can serve as a better depth MIF than either of Madrigal or Mastrobuoni. He’s also probably the best defensive infielder in the Cubs farm system right now, and might serve as a better late-game replacement than Madrigal, though we’ll see what the plan is there.
Overall, it’s really easy to get discouraged by this tough stretch, but I’m gonna keep looking at it as a glass half full. The Cubs are exiting their toughest stretch of the year so far (after this Braves series) and survived the whole thing just staying afloat, despite the multitude of injuries. Disappointing, sure, but nothing to get too worried about nonetheless.
Also, I’m not going to get worried about Steele yet. His stuff still looks good, though I think he’s just been throwing the ball in the zone too much. (And, despite that, still has about a league-average K%). It also seems like he may be trying to mix in a sinker and changeup, as well as more of a “slurvy” slider. Also, it’s encouraging to note he did not even give up a barrel in his second start against the Pirates. Some wind may have assisted the Pirates a tiny bit, but it’s nothing to be worried over yet.
Series MVP: Shota Imanaga
Is there any other answer? Imanaga shut out the Pirates to lower his ERA to 0.84(!!!) en route to a Cubs 1-0 walk off victory. It also marks Imanaga as the owner of the lowest ERA through a pitchers’ first nine starts ever.
If the Cubs don’t have him on the mound Saturday, the Cubs likely don’t win Saturday. Imanaga has been so impressive so far, and owns a 27.8 K%, with just a 4.3 BB%. Imanaga is currently tied with Zack Wheeler and Chris Sale for the NL lead in fWAR among pitchers.
Picture Credit: Charles Rex Arbogast, Associated Press
Ivy League Cubs 
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