By the beginning of April, it looked like this team could lose the division by the middle of May. The offensive struggles were very concerning, especially given what could already be a rough year for the pitching staff down the stretch. The approach and at-bats at the plate were just terrible and couldn’t get any worse. Trying to lift the ball on cold, windy days at Wrigley is not ideal, and not how you get guys on base to get things going offensively. Ground ball inning-ending double plays were way too common and left a lot of runs to be desired in the first few series to start this season. Key players like Bregman, Swanson, and PCA were getting off to a slower start than expected.
Things have seemed to shift since game two of the Phillies series in Philadelphia, and I would say that the warm weather definitely helped. The warm weather in Philly was very much needed and finally gave some pop to those Cubs’ bats. In the last two games of the Phillies series, the Cubs put up more than 10 runs, and kept things going in game one of the Mets series by scoring 12 runs. This Cubs team has now scored 39 runs in its last 5 games, leading the MLB. They are currently averaging 7.8 runs per game, but have a team slugging percentage of .398, a team average of .251, and an OBP of .341. These numbers should improve as more guys in this lineup are putting together better at-bats.
Nico Hoerner has been very impressive, and I believe he is a big reason the Cubs have been able to get going. He has been great all year at the plate, but he has really been setting the tone as a leadoff. Carson Kelley and Ian Happ have also gotten hot at the dish, both combining for 10 rbi’s in the last 5 games. This Cubs offense, when it’s on, is one of the better lineups in Major League Baseball. There are obviously cold stretches in a 162-game season, but I believe the bats will continue to stay hot and should be what we are currently seeing for most of the year.