CHICAGO — After a too-close-for-comfort 7-6 win Friday night over the Chicago White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field, the Chicago Cubs are trying to quietly get back in the playoff race. After what fans have watched for nearly three months, that might feel like a laughable statement.
But Friday’s win pushed them to two games under .500 for the first time since June 12. That’s hardly a brilliant accomplishment. It is definitely too early to be taking the Cubs seriously as far as the wild card goes. But the reality is, they’ve got a chance because of their August schedule.
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Over their next 22 games, the Cubs have just one series — three games — against a winning team. If they’re going to make a run at this, August might be the month. That lone winning team, the Cleveland Guardians, is on a seven-game losing streak.
Jameson Taillon, who was staked out to a 7-0 lead but gave up five runs in five innings of work Friday night, understands nothing comes easy.
“I hate to talk bad about any team, I’m well aware that any team can get you on any given day,” Taillon said. “But you need to beat the teams that you need to beat. That’s something in years past where it felt like you make the playoffs because you beat the teams you need to beat or you miss because you don’t beat up on the teams you have to beat.”
The Cubs are 41-44 against teams above .500, meaning they’re just one game over .500 against the sub-.500 teams. Hardly anything to get excited about. But this team isn’t looking like the one that slogged through May and June. Isaac Paredes, who homered and singled in Friday’s win, has added stability at third. Pete Crow-Armstrong added three hits on the night, giving him 16 in his last 13 games. He’s gone from an automatic out to putting up quality at-bats daily. Even Miguel Amaya has made sure the catcher spot isn’t a complete black hole. That all matters.
The lineup is much deeper than it was even two weeks ago. It also helps that the Cubs have five off days this month. That’s how many they had combined in May and June.
“If anything, I think some of the off days hopefully (means) we can get our guys out there,” manager Craig Counsell said. “Optimize that a little bit and take advantage of that.”
That means no need to give the everyday guys time off unless there’s a nagging injury.
“We’re all pretty aware that we had a tough schedule there for a while,” Taillon said. “Felt like we were in the jungle for a bit. Now it’s like some nice off days and better travel lining up. Still gotta go out there and execute.”
900th career hit is a home run for Cody Bellinger 👏 pic.twitter.com/ZrEFVA6p5Q
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) August 10, 2024
With Paredes added to the roster and Cody Bellinger healthy, the lineup just looks completely different. It helps that Mike Tauchman, who has been rather productive all season, now becomes a lefty bat off the bench. Christian Bethancourt is around only because of an injury to Tomás Nido, but he’s got six hits —four for extra bases — and two walks in 16 plate appearances. Perhaps that won’t last, but it’s the type of run of production that can help ignite a hot stretch of play.
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It helps that Bellinger is looking as good as he has all season. He went 3-for-4 with a homer and a walk Friday. His power stroke had eluded him for much of the season as he hit just two long balls from May 11 to July 10. But since returning to the lineup July 30, Bellinger has already slugged three home runs.
“We’re playing good,” Bellinger said. “Full confidence in this clubhouse. It’s kind of the healthiest we’ve been in a while with the bullpen, the pitching staff and the lineup. With that, we’re just rolling, playing good baseball and playing for each other.”
During the Cubs’ recent 7-2 stretch, they’re averaging over six runs a game. They’ve scored four runs or more in eight of the nine games. This isn’t a stretch when just one player is carrying the group, either. Finally, from top to bottom, players are producing.
This team also has a bullpen that’s stabilized for over two months now and a rotation that’s been among the best in baseball this season. Winning a game like Friday’s when the starter has an off night has been much needed.
But the hole they dug might have been too deep. They’re still four games out of a playoff spot with four teams ahead of them. There’s a lot of work to be done. But with a more complete team and a schedule that lines up well for them, one can squint and begin to dream.
“We’re just trying to stack up wins,” Counsell said. “That’s what we’re trying to do and make this last seven weeks interesting and fun. Stacking up wins will do that.”
(Photo of Pete Crow-Armstrong: Griffin Quinn / Getty Images)
