The Cubs went 3-2 in a week that featured two off days, and overall had a 5-3 homestand against three really good teams, the Padres, Dodgers and Phillies.
A 4-1 week and 6-2 homestand, obviously, was the goal, but the Cubs came up a bit short.
Here’s who was hot and not for the Cubs over the last week.
Three up
Pete Crow-Armstrong continues to hit
Over the five games against the Dodgers and Phillies, PCA hit .421/.421/.842 (8-for-19) with two doubles, two home runs, four runs scored, four stolen bases and eight RBI.
Happ batted .333/.440/.476 (7-for-21) over the week with three doubles and four walks. His OPS rose from .676 to .718 and his 18 walks this season rank 10th in the NL. His .352 OBP for the season is perfectly good for a leadoff hitter.
Taillon’s seven-inning, one-run outing followed another one-run game against the Diamondbacks last week.
Since his rough outing to open the season vs. Arizona, Taillon has a 2.76 ERA and 0.955 WHIP in five starts, with 25 strikeouts in 29⅓ innings.
One of those K’s, of Bryson Stott on Sunday, was the 1,000th of Taillon’s career
And I’m not talking about the Cubs off day today — I mean, when there’s an actual game, Dansby needs to just sit and not overthink things, which he appears to be doing.
He did have a two-hit game against the Dodgers Wednesday, but overall in the five games Swanson batted .200/.273/.350 (4-for-20) with eight strikeouts. And that slash line is actually an improvement over previous weeks.
Brown’s start Saturday against the Phillies was pretty bad, and overall this year he’s thrown more than five innings only once, April 12 vs. the Dodgers.
His K rate is still good (24.6 percent) but his walk rate is too high (11.1 percent). I continue to believe he’d better serve the Cubs in the bullpen.
Kyle Tucker has cooled off
After a 3-for-4 game against the Dodgers last Tuesday that included his key home run in the eighth, Tucker went just 1-for-14 the rest of the week with four strikeouts. He continues to draw walks, and his 21 walks rank tied for sixth in the NL.
Guys have minor slumps all the time and Tucker wasn’t going to hit .330 forever. Hopefully he finds his groove again against the Pirates and Brewers.
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