Baby steps, but slumping Cubs hitters collect 11 hits in victory
The Cubs seemingly had nowhere to go but up as an offense, since they headed into Thursday's game in Pittsburgh with a team batting average of .124.
But things can always get worse, right? Not this time. There was a mild breakthrough at the plate, with the Cubs collecting a season-high 11 hits.
"I think we felt on the plane last night a really good confidence, a little bit of momentum coming off our at-bats later in that game (against Milwaukee on Wednesday)," manager David Ross said after the game. "Quality ABs, getting guys on, weren't able to finish the job yesterday but it definitely felt good leaving that game as far as where we thought we were at. So we carried that into today, really good approaches. That was a nice team win."
By the end of the day, the Cubs' team average had risen to .157. Still worst in the league, but now they actually have a .300 hitter in outfielder Jake Marisnick.
The heart of the order - Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo and Javy Baez - collected a home run and 2 hits each. Baez talked about how the players are trying to keep it loose and stay together during the early-season slump.
"Tony (Rizzo) came out joking around, he was like, 'Bro we've got at least 6 hits today.'" Baez said. "We're having fun, even when we lose games. We're giving everything we have. At the end of the game, we try to stay together and be a family in the clubhouse."
Twitter: @McGrawDHBulls