Offense not quite clicking in Cubs' 4-2 loss to Pirates
The early season skews the numbers in baseball, both high and low.
Right now, the Cubs are sporting some anemic batting averages, but manager Joe Maddon is trusting in the process, and for the most part, the process is grinding away.
Cubs batters continue to work good at-bats, and if that continues, the results should follow.
It was all on display Friday at Wrigley Field despite a 4-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The Cubs, whose rallying cry last year was “We never quit,” took it down to the wire, loading the bases after two were out in the bottom of the ninth inning. But Ben Zobrist bounced into a forceout to end the game.
“We put ourselves in a position to get a chance in the last few innings to tie the game at least,” said Zobrist, who is off to a 6-for-32 (.188) start. “Right now with a lot of us, I think the rhythm isn't quite there yet at the plate. It's kind of early in the season. It's chilly. It's kind of been tough to get it going this week for everybody a little bit. But I like how we battled late in the game.”
Zobrist's on-base percentage is .333. He's not the only one with a low batting average and a good OBP. Kyle Schwarber started the ninth-inning comeback attempt with a two-out walk. He's batting .216, but he leads the team with 9 walks and has an OBP of .383. Schwarber had an RBI single in Friday's fifth inning.
Kris Bryant is at .231 with his batting average but he sports and OBP of .375. He also has a track record.
“I love that, actually,” Maddon said of the approaches. “I love the fact that we are seeing a lot of pitches, we are working good at-bats. For the most part, we are really not chasing out of the zone. And that's just going to benefit us long term, also.
“No, we actually look really good at the plate. Guys that normally hit that are not, heads up, they're going to start doing it. To be in pretty good shape record wise (6-4) in spite of not having the offense not clicking on all cylinders, it's kind of a good sign.”
Starting pitcher Kyle Hendricks is still trying to find his rhythm, too. After coming out of spring training looking sharp, he had to wait until the Cubs' fifth game of the season, on April 8, to make his first start of the regular season. He went 6 innings that night at Milwaukee. Against the Pirates, he went 5-plus, exiting the game after giving up back-to-back singles to start the sixth. Reliever Justin Grimm was on the mound when the Pirates scored three times that inning to erase a 2-1 deficit.
Hendricks wasn't blaming the rust factor for not having his normal sharpness.
“I don't really think that's any of the reasoning behind it,” he said. “It's just one of those things. You come in and out of it, out of your zone a little bit. Obviously last year, about midway through, I obviously found that zone and kind of ran with it. It's still early, just kind of trying to find my way into it.
“Really today, I was happy with the better command of my fastball, so I can see it coming along. Hopefully just a couple more.”