Cubs Offense Sputters At The End Of A Grueling Schedule

Good morning Chicago fans! I hope you enjoyed your weekend despite the Cubs playing bad baseball. Go attack your Monday and have a great day. I’m sure most of us feel this way on Mondays when trying to accomplish anything:

CHICAGO CUBS

W - Cubs 9, Giants 2

Giant Killers!

• The offense stayed hot: Carson Kelly and Ian Happ hit HRs, Dansby Swanson went 3-for-4

• Matthew Boyd had another quality start (6.0 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 7 K)

L - Giants 14, Cubs 5 (F/11)

Baseball: The beautiful and disheartening game

• A Kyle Tucker game-tying RBI single sent the game to extra innings

• Ryan Pressly gave up 8 runs in the 11th without getting a single batter out…

• Strange hops, BABIP luck, dropped balls, and fluky plays all went against the Cubs as both teams hit the ball hard all night

L - Giants 3, Cubs 1

Robbie Ray and the 4-hit Cubs

• Ray pitched a gem (6.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K), and the Cubs only had 7 baserunners in the entire game

• Ben Brown struck out 9 batters but gave up 3 ER in 5 innings

L - Mets 7, Cubs 2

First 3-game losing streak of the season

• 4 Mets hit solo HRs off Jameson Taillon (4.0 IP, 9 H, 5 ER), and a Dansby sailed throw led to 2 more runs

• Cubs only had 5 hits and went 0-for-6 with RISP

• Tucker and Michael Busch each hit a solo HR

W - Cubs 6, Mets 5

Horton hears a go Cubs go

• Cade Horton earned the win in his MLB debut after Brad Keller served as the opener. His stuff was filthy, and he admirably pitched around some shaky moments (4.0 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 5 K).

• Dansby and Miguel Amaya each drove in 2 runs

L - Mets 6, Cubs 2

Cubs Canned for another series loss

• Matthew Boyd (6.0 IP, 2 ER, 8 K) vs. Griffin Canning (6.0 IP, 1 ER, 5 K) was quite the pitchers’ duel!

• Porter Hodge allowed 3 ER in the 8th inning to break a 2-2 tie

• Cubs only had 3 hits and 5 total baserunners 🙄

Star of the Week ⭐ Matthew Boyd

12.0 IP, 2 quality starts, 11 H, 4 ER, 0 BB, 15 K

Play of the Week 🎥 PCA sliding catch

Placed Shota Imanaga on the 15-day IL with a hamstring strain, recalled RHP Gavin Hollowell

• Shota was diagnosed with a MILD strain and will be reevaluated in about a week. This was really best case scenario!

Ian Happ missed the last 2 games due to oblique discomfort. He should return to the lineup soon. In his absence, PCA was at the leadoff spot 👀

Selected Cade Horton from AAA, placed Caleb Thielbar on the paternity list

Jeff Passan predicted that Kyle Tucker’s next contract will in fact eclipse $500M. Read his story on future contracts here.

Dansby Swanson is going to be a dad!

3 players in MLB have 10+ HR and 10+ SB:

Pete Crow-Armstrong, Kyle Tucker, and Shohei Ohtani

The schedule FINALLY lightens up heading into this week. Here is how the Cubs fared in each portion of their schedule so far:

Tokyo series vs. Dodgers: 0-2

DBacks & A’s in Sacramento: 5-2 (5-4 overall)

Padres (2)/Rangers/Dodgers (2)/DBacks/Phillies (teams that were a combined 29-5 before the Cubs vs. Padres series): 12-8 (17-12 overall)

Pirates & Brewers divisional games: 4-2 (21-14 overall)

Giants & Mets: 2-4 (23-18 overall)

The last week was disappointing, and the pitching staff has already dealt with too many injuries. However, the Cubs survived the first quarter of the season in 1st place, and there are reasons to be hopeful. I am simultaneously optimistic, especially with teams like the Marlins, White Sox, Reds, and Rockies on the schedule, and concerned because of the rotation’s health and bullpen's volatility.

Hopefully they barrel through some weaker teams and build a comfortable and insurmountable lead in the division.

SCHEDULE 📅 M/T/W/F/SAT/SUN

CHICAGO BEARS

OFFSEASON

Undrafted free agent signings:

Rookie mini camp was Friday through Sunday!

Colston Loveland, Ruben Hyppolite II, Zah Frazier, Luke Newman, and Kyle Monangai all signed their rookie contracts

CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS

OFFSEASON

Pick #3 in the NHL Draft!

• Moved down 1 spot in the Lottery due to the New York Islanders jumping all the way up from #10 with 3.5% odds!

• I wanted them to stick at #2 to nearly guarantee them C Michael Misa, but #3 is still a good spot. A lot of intriguing forwards will be available!

• The Islanders will most likely select top prospect D Matthew Schaefer, but C James Hagens is a hometown kid who has been connected to the Islanders for quite some time…any surprises from the Islanders or Sharks (#2) would make this exciting!

• Potential forward options at #3: Porter Martone, Anton Frondell, James Hagens, Caleb Desnoyers, and others

World Championships are underway!

• Frank Nazar had 2 goals and 1 assist in the USA’s 2nd game and has 4 total points in 2 games

• Lukas Reichel has 1 goal and 2 assists for Germany

Top NHL coaching candidate David Carle signed a contract extension with the University of Denver, so he turned down the Hawks AND other teams

The Rockford IceHogs lost 3 straight games and blew a 2-0 series lead vs. the Milwaukee Admirals in the AHL Division Semifinals

• Veterans Joey Anderson and Zach Sanford each had 8 points in their 7 playoff games

• Goalie Drew Commesso was sharp in the playoffs! He finished with a .926 SV% and 2.35 GAA

Joel Quenneville is the new head coach of the Anaheim Ducks after being out of the NHL since 2021

CHICAGO BULLS

OFFSEASON

NBA Draft Lottery is tonight!

• 12th best odds to land the #1 pick

• 1.7% odds to jump up and get the presumed top pick Cooper Flagg…just like D🌹 in 2008

• Matas Buzelis will represent the Bulls on stage for the Lottery

SAY WHAT?

A CITYWIDE SALUTE

Ruben Hyppolite II

At the podium this week, Hyppolite spoke in depth about his pre-draft process and how it differed from a lot of other players.

He dealt with not receiving a Combine invite and handling a narrative that he should be a 7th round draft pick. Now that he is a 4th round pick of the Bears, he reflects on his journey:

MILD TAKE

The Cubs closer is not currently on the roster.

Jed Hoyer will be forced to make a trade. Whether it’s in early June to jump the market or on Trade Deadline day, he will have to acquire a proven closer from another team to give the Cubs a chance to make a playoff run this season.

Ryan Pressly has been simply ineffective. In 15 appearances, he has a 7.07 ERA, 5.33 FIP, and an abysmal 3.86 K/9. He isn’t forcing any swings and misses. Even though he proved to have closer toughness and the ability to pitch his way through a lack of stuff by not allowing a single earned run in April, having the right mentality alone is unsustainable.

Porter Hodge has looked like the deserved closer for a good portion of the season, but he also has struggled as a young pitcher still developing into a late-inning role. He has a 5.71 ERA, 4.50 FIP, and an 8.31 K/9. He only struck out 1 hitter in his last 6 appearances, and he is walking way too many hitters.

Beyond those two, nobody on the roster fits the bill. Daniel Palencia may get there in a few years, but he still needs time to figure out the major leagues in lower leverage spots.

This bullpen cannot compete in October or even in a September divisional race. A new closer will be in town later this summer.

HITTING THE LINKS

Scott Powers - Blackhawks get another crack at drafting elite forward with No. 3 pick in 2025 NHL Draft (The Athletic)

Michael Cerami - In This Lineup, Ian Happ Can Finally Be the Type of Hitter He Was Always Meant to Be (Bleacher Nation)

Patrick Mooney and Sahadev Sharma - How the Cubs put Cade Horton back on the fast track, leading to his debut in New York (The Athletic)

Tony Andracki - Cubs’ Dansby Swanson shares surprising secret behind recent hot streak (Marquee Sports Network)

Jon Greenberg - ‘Coolest thing ever’: Pete Crow-Armstrong becoming a folk hero in Chicago (The Athletic)

Scott Powers - Five years of Blackhawks NHL Draft classes: The signed, unsigned and uncertain (The Athletic)

TWO MINUTE WARNING

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Thanks for reading! Break out the Derrick Rose jerseys for some lottery luck tonight!