Too soon? Cubs join elite company as home win streak hits 15
Are the Cubs peaking too soon?
They completed their second straight 7-0 homestand by beating Cincinnati in less dramatic fashion Thursday. Instead of a walk-off, the Cubs used a 7-run fourth inning to spark an 8-3 victory.
The home win streak grew to 15 in a row, second longest in franchise history. They've won nine straight overall and will hit the road with a 26-12 overall record.
It all seems too good to be true. A few weeks ago, the Cubs sat in last place in the powerful NL Central and people were wondering if there was enough punch in the lineup, if the bullpen needed help, if the rotation would survive both the loss of Cade Horton and delayed return of Justin Steele.
Now the Cubs have the two longest win streaks in MLB this season — the 10-gamer that ended at Dodger Stadium and the current nine-game victory spree.
Are the Cubs setting a standard they can't possibly live up to?
Well, to answer a question with a question, did the 2016 Cubs peak too early when they started 25-6? What about the '84 Tigers with their 35-5 opening?
“Our job is to stack up wins,” manager Craig Counsell said after Thursday's game. “They count the same now as they do later in the season. That's our job. Stack them up when things are going well.”
The Cubs have joined some excellent company with their twin streaks. According to MLB Stats, the Cubs are the first team with two nine game-plus win streaks through the first 38 games since the 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers.
That Dodgers team started 10-0, then added an 11-game streak to go 22-2 and build a 9½ game lead by May 10. The end result was a World Series championship, then relocation three years later, but don't think we have to worry about the Cubs leaving the neighborhood.
This hot start is historically a great sign. These days, though, major-league teams are only as good as their next arm injury. The Cubs pitching staff has held up well so far but was running on fumes by October last year.
The best comparison for the current Cubs stretch might be last season's Brewers, which went on a 30-5 from mid-July to mid-August. A lot of good it did them. Sure, the Brew Crew beat the Cubs in the division series but were swept by the Dodgers in the NLCS.
Shota Imanaga continued his bounceback campaign Thursday, piling up 10 strikeouts in 6 innings, and lowering his season ERA to 2.28.
This was also a victory for the Cubs' depth, a Michael Conforto home run opened the scoring; and for screwing up less than the opponent. The Reds missed a great chance to execute a double play during the Cubs' 7-run inning.
With the bases loaded, Dansby Swanson hit a grounder to third base, Cincinnati's Ke'Bryan Hayes stepped on third, then threw home with plenty of time to tag the runner. But Reds catcher Tyler Stephenson didn't realize the force was removed when Hayes stepped on third and didn't even try to tag the runner crossing the plate.
A double play would not have ended the inning but maybe prevented two Cubs runs. So it probably didn’t matter in the final result.
“We took advantage of the walks, we took advantage of a defensive mistake,” Counsell said. “That's how you win games.”
If this was a basketball team riding a 19-3 run, inevitably the coach would grumble: “We can definitely get better. The defensive rebounding was horrible the last game.”
Baseball is a different story. It's all about surviving 162 games, not getting on the practice field to fix some flaws.
“I think when you're talking about all that stuff (like win streaks), you're talking about things that have happened yesterday or in the past,” Counsell said. “What's ahead of you, that's what you're always thinking about. Like, what's next?”
The Cubs got encouraging news about Matthew Boyd's knee surgery. Apparently, doctors were able to snip off a piece of loose cartilage and the estimate is a six-week absence.
Before the game the Cubs designated reliever Corbin Martin for assignment and called up Gavin Hollowell from Iowa. After the game they acquired right-handed reliever Tyler Ferguson from the Athletics.