Cubs cap off busy weekend with series win against Royals |
KANSAS CITY — As bad as things have been for the Chicago Cubs (51-56), they have been playing much better the past three weeks. That all started with a sweep of the Orioles before the all-start break, only to see their offense go into hibernation since. Then came this weekend's series against the Kansas City Royals (57-49) at Kauffman Stadium, where the Cubs were not only underdogs but massive underdogs in all three games.
After splitting the first two games of their weekend series, the Cubs had a shot at a rare series win as they turned to Javier Assad on the mound. Assad hasn't been great since his return from the IL, but he finally got back to looking like the pitcher he was before his injury. Throw in a series of trades, including sending Christopher Morel to the Tampa Bay Rays mid-game in exchange for Isaac Paredes, and a busy weekend for the Cubs ended on a positive note as they took down the Royals 7-3 to claim the series win. ICYMI: #Cubs trade Christopher Morel, others in swap for All-Star third baseman https://t.co/xxLDxiIPNm Assad hasn't been sharp since returning from the IL, as he has pitched less than nine innings since his return. Sunday saw Assad not only give the Cubs length with six innings, but he walked one and struck out six as he finally had the command he had been lacking. Quality stuff from Javi 👏 pic.twitter.com/vgIRZS0wBN You could make the case that this was the biggest toss-up of the weekend as Assad opposed Cole Ragens as the young lefty pitched into the sixth before exiting with four runs allowed and seven strikeouts. As good as Assad was, he didn't start well, as most of the Royals' damage came in the first inning. With Michael Massey opening the game with a walk ahead of a Bobby Witt Jr. single, the Royals had two runners on with no outs, only to have a sacrifice bunt move both runners into scoring position. That proved costly, with Hunter Renfroe coming through with a massive single as the Royals opened up a 2-0 lead. Renfroe has been a pleasant surprise for the Royals this season, and with five RBIs against the Cubs this weekend, he continues to hammer them whenever he plays them. Trailing by that 2-0 score in the third, the Cubs offense finally started to get things going as the bottom of the order played the catalyst. It all started with Pete Crow-Armstrong leading things off with a single before advancing to second on a Christian Bethancourt single. The big hit in that inning came from Nico Hoerner, whose RBI double brought home both runners and pulled the Cubs even 2-2. That lead didn't last long however, with Freddy Fermin connecting for a solo shot in the bottom of the fourth as the Royals retook the lead 3-2. That was the game's final run for the Royals, but with the Cubs offense struggling as much as they have, three runs may be enough. Take away the third inning when the Cubs started to show signs of life, their offense was again appauling at best through five innings with Bethancourt adding a double in the fifth in what was otherwise a struggle. Then came the sixth, when a Michael Busch double helped ignite a late-game rally, which helped the Cubs pick up the win. His double was followed by a David Bote double to tie things up, while Crow-Armstrong cashed in with a clutch two-out single to push home the winning run, with the Cubs now up 4-3. Lead TAKEN. pic.twitter.com/zYrIDHfNnH Holding that lead in the seventh, it was up to the bullpen to lock things down, as both Tyson Miller and Mark Leiter Jr. pitched into and out of trouble to keep the Cubs in front, which has been the theme for the pen lately. Looking to deliver the knockout blow late, Patrick Wisdom uncorked his second homer in as many days to extend the Cubs' lead to 5-3 in the ninth, but that was only the beginning of a three-run ninth inning. Busch delivered an RBI single later in the inning to bring home another run, with Dansby Swanson capping off the scoring with a sacrifice fly to put the Cubs in front 7-3. Hitting a baseball 438 ft is good. #DailyWisdom pic.twitter.com/ZIVQeo5XGe Hector Neris took care of the rest from there, coming in to pitch the ninth and taking care of the Royals to secure the win. With the Cubs showing they are not only willing to buy but are also focussing on 2025 and beyond, all the attention will shift to Neris, Leiter Jr., and Jameson Taillon, as those appear to be some of the hottest names on the trade block right now. The Cubs pounded out 13 hits in the win, with Crow-Armstrong leading the way with three. Bethancourt and Busch added multi-hit games as the Cubs' offense was more consistent over the weekend. Chicago will bring their new-look lineup to Cincinnati on Monday as they open a three-game set with the Reds. Taillon is expected to start one of those games, so it will be interesting to see if that happens or not. Grilled up a series dub in KC 👨🍳
Crow-Armstrong: 3-for-4, RBI, R, SB
Assad: 6.0 IP, 5 K, W
Bethancourt: 2-for-4, 2B, R, SB pic.twitter.com/Yoo72hIfPI
