Young Chicago Cubs pile on Pirates
Youth not only has been served on the Chicago Cubs this year. It's been seated at the head table.
The Cubs' kiddie corps sent some records spinning and some heads turning Wednesday night during a 17-3 rout of the Pittsburgh Pirates at Wrigley Field. In doing so, the Cubs compiled 20 hits.
The victory completed a three-game series sweep and improved the Cubs to 72-60 for the season. The Cubs took care of things with a dazzling display of offense led by their younger players.
Ian Happ hit a 2-run homer in the 3-run third. He also had an RBI single in the first and a 2-run double in the fifth, when the Cubs scored 7 runs. The home run gave the 23-year-old rookie 20 for the season.
Anthony Rizzo, no old man he at 28, hit his 31st of the season. Kyle Schwarber, 24, his 23rd and 24th.
When the dust - and the baseballs - had come to earth, the Cubs found themselves with a franchise-record six players with at least 20 home runs in a season: Kris Bryant, Willson Contreras, Rizzo, Schwarber, Happ and Javier Baez, who contributed with a steal of home on a missed safety-squeeze.
They also established a major-league record by getting 20-homer seasons from five players in their age-25-or-younger season: Bryant, Contreras, Schwarber, Baez and Happ.
"We've got a lot of good hitters here, a lot of young guys that have learned a lot and are putting good swings on baseballs," Happ said. "You can see that, especially on a night when we get 20 hits as a team."
All of this was to the benefit of starting pitcher Jose Quintana, the subject of much talk since the Cubs acquired him from the White Sox in July in a deal that included prospects Eloy Jimenez and Dylan Cease.
Quintana gave up a pair of first-inning runs, throwing 31 pitches. He hit a pair of batters on 0-2 counts. Quintana settled in nicely after that and worked 6 innings, giving up 4 hits and 3 runs to improve to 5-3 with the Cubs.
When Quintana has pitched well, talk has been that the Cubs got the best of the deal. When he hasn't pitched well, the trade has been perceived as a win for the Sox. The final verdict won't be in for some years.
"I think sometimes they apply a little bit of pressure to themselves to live up to the moment," manager Joe Maddon said. "That's human nature. With him, I still think he is settling in. He's such a wonderful young man, and he's so concerned. He wants to do well. Listen, I know he's going to be really good for a long period of time."
Quintana said he his not trying to live up to the trade.
"I feel comfortable here," he said. "All the coaches and teammates made it easy to be here. It's new for me. I feel really good here. Just try to do my job. It's the same game."
Scouting report
Cubs vs. Atlanta Braves at Wrigley Field
TV: Comcast SportsNet Thursday, Saturday and Sunday; WGN Friday
Radio: WSCR 670-AM
Pitching matchups: The Cubs' Kyle Hendricks (5-4) vs. Sean Newcomb (2-7) Thursday at 7:05 p.m.; John Lackey (10-10) vs. Mike Foltynewicz (10-10) Friday at 1:20 p.m.; Jon Lester (8-7) vs. Lucas Sims (2-4) Saturday at 1:20 p.m.; Mike Montgomery (5-6) vs. R.A. Dickey (9-8) Sunday at 1:20 p.m.
At a glance: The Cubs swept three from the Braves in Atlanta July 17-19. The Braves are third in the NL East and trying to hold off the Mets. Freddie Freeman entered Wednesday with a line of .319/.415/.616 with 23 homers and 56 RBI. Ender Inciarte was at .307/.350/.409 with 10 homers and 49 RBI and Matt Adams had 18 homers and 52 RBI. The Braves entered the day ranked 13th in team ERA, while the Cubs were fifth. The Cubs are almost halfway through a stretch of 20 games in 20 days. For the Cubs' rotation, Jake Arrieta has been pushed back to Monday's opener at Pittsburgh.
Next: Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park, Monday-Thursday
- Bruce Miles