Cubs’ struggles against left-handed starters puts focus on another area of need

Entering play on Saturday, the Cubs had faced 19 left-handed starters and Michael Busch had started in just six of those games. Craig Counsell decided to give him his seventh Saturday afternoon.

“Sometimes you gotta change it up,” Counsell said. “You gotta do something different. I thought today was a day with the way Michael has been swinging the bat, so gotta do something different.”

Busch has been on a tear of late and went 4-for-4 with three home runs on Friday. He quickly made Counsell look good as he homered off St. Louis Cardinals lefty starter Matthew Liberatore in his first at-bat, then doubled in his second.

On the season, Busch has a 162 wRC+, fifth in MLB. Busch, always understated, didn’t take too much away from earning the start on Saturday.

“I’ve felt very comfortable against lefties,” Busch said. “We just have a group that no matter who’s pitching, no matter who’s in the lineup, whoever is in there, try to do your best.”

The Cubs scored two runs in five innings against Liberatore, then another run off lefty reliever Steven Matz and an unearned run against JoJo Romero. The Cardinals planned to throw lefties at the group and hope they could contain a potent offense. Despite a solid effort against those lefties, the Cubs fell short, losing 8-6 after Brad Keller had a rare poor outing, blowing a two-run lead in the eighth. Keller and the relievers aren’t an issue for this team, though. Especially on a day when Counsell went with a bullpen game with Jameson Taillon down for at least a month.

The Cubs have been up front with their desire to add starting pitching. They will also continue to build depth in the bullpen. But another area they’ll monitor for upgrades is their bench. They need a right-handed hitter, or even better, a player with defensive versatility who can also hit lefties.

For the first month of the season, the Cubs could do no wrong against left-handed pitching. By wRC+, no team has put together a better month against lefties than the Cubs’ 145 mark in March and April. But since that point, they’ve posted a 91 wRC+, a middling mark that has them 16th in baseball during that span.

“Certainly, it’s a trend we’ve talked about and noticed,” team president Jed Hoyer said. “We have been more effective against right-handed starters than left-handed starters. You need to be able to feel good in any kind of game and situation. Certainly, we’re a little bit imbalanced in that regard right now. Some of that is who we’ve faced.”

Over the last month-plus, the Cubs have faced some of the best lefties in baseball. MacKenzie Gore, Tarik Skubal and Framber Valdez. Twice they’ve faced Andrew Abbott, Nick Lodolo, Jesús Luzardo and Liberatore.

Is this an actual issue, or have the Cubs just been facing a lot of great lefties lately?

“It’s both of those things,” Counsell said. “We have faced some very good left-handed pitching lately, and we haven’t swung the bats as well against left-handed pitching.”

In March and April, Carson Kelly had a 164 wRC+ against lefties, and Ian Happ was at 161. Since then, Kelly has posted an 82 wRC+ against lefties, and Happ has delivered a rough 49 mark. Since being recalled in the middle of May, Matt Shaw has a 26 wRC+ against lefties.

“I know we want to be the best at everything,” Counsell said. “We’ve just been really good against right-handed pitching because we have a couple hitters in Pete (Crow-Armstrong) and Michael Busch, two very good left-handed hitters, and they’re doing what you’d expect them to do.”

Against righties (entering Saturday), Bush has a 180 wRC+ and Crow-Armstrong is at 167, the top two on the team. But against lefties. Busch is at 35 and Crow-Armstrong 70. Busch had a nice day Saturday, but Crow-Armstrong went 0-for-4 with a walk, facing lefties in each plate appearance.

Those are tough matchups for Crow-Armstrong and Busch. What the Cubs need is more of what Kelly has looked like of late. The Cubs’ primary catcher went 2-for-5 with a double and a homer, both hits off righties, and has looked much closer to the April version. Justin Turner, on the team largely to hit lefties, had a 93 wRC+ against them before going 0-for-1 against a lefty Saturday.

The team also needs Dansby Swanson to be more consistent. Swanson is hitting lefties, but primarily when the bases are empty. In those situations against lefties, he has a 193 wRC+. When there are runners on base, it’s 52. In the first inning Saturday, Swanson came up with the bases loaded and one out and struck out against Liberatore.

“I think that’s very reasonable to expect to improve,” Counsell said. “You need your right-handers. That’s the name of the game there.”

There’s no doubt that adding a right-handed hitter with some versatility will be on the docket for Hoyer and company. With a largely set lineup, either improving the bench or finding an upgrade at third while moving Shaw to a bench role are the most likely avenues. It’s not the number one priority, but in a season where the Cubs want to cover any weaknesses and improve their chances in October, this is becoming a clear area of need.

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