One day Cubs hope to be as batty as the Dodgers
The Dodgers can put some runs on the board.
The first-place team in the National League West breezed through Chicago this past weekend and outscored the Cubs 37-22 in four games.
The Cubs staged another rally Sunday, but unlike Saturday, they fell short and dropped an 8-5 decision, losing three of four.
Someday in what they hope is the not-too-distant future, the Cubs feel they can have an offense as potent as what the Dodgers have now.
"Sure," said Cubs catcher Welington Castillo, who hit his 12th homer Sunday. "We have a lot of good hitters here, a lot of young guys, with the time and just playing, I think are going to be really good."
The Dodgers outhit the Cubs 16-8 Sunday. Cubs batters struck out 13 times. They entered the game leading the NL in strikeouts. If the Cubs can get some power production out of their hitters, they seem OK with the strikeouts.
"Some of the guys are probably going to be high-strikeout guys but there's going to be a high likelihood of them being able to drive the ball very well," said manager Rick Renteria. "We have quite a few guys now that I think are going to be able to hit the ball a long way. \
"But to the point of the strikeouts, as far as pitch recognition, a lot of guys do have the ability to recognize the breaking ball, the fastball. The toughest pitch to recognize, to be honest with you, is the changeup, for me. The arm speed and everything is the same."
Turner turns in 5:
After a pair of short outings by their starting pitchers Friday and Saturday, the Cubs were hoping for some innings out of right-hander Jacob Turner on Sunday.
They'll take the 5 innings they got.
"To be honest with you, yeah, it seemed awesome that he got us through 5," Rick Renteria said. "We were hoping at that point, with some of the guys in the relief corps, that we have to (hold) them a little bit and give us a chance to try to chip away."
In his 5 innings, Turner gave up 8 hits and 5 runs, 4 earned while walking no one and striking out three. The Cubs obtained him from Miami in an Aug. 8 trade, hoping they could regenerate his career. With the two teams this year, he is 5-11 with a 6.25 ERA.
"I think there are definitely some positives," Turner said. "I felt that as far as my pitches go, my curveball's been pretty consistent for me. Just really the biggest thing is commanding the fastball in the zone, not only throwing strikes, but quality strikes."