The Rundown: Brown and Morel Lead Cubs to Rebound Win, Wisdom Mashing at Iowa, Pitching Injuries Pile Up
“It’s a bright horizon but I’m awakened. I see myself in a brand new way.” – Boston, Don’t Look Back
There are, of course, peaks and valleys to a 162-game season, and Monday night’s 9-8 loss to the Padres was the lowest of lows for every Cubs fan. My father had a go-to phrase for games like those, and I’ll give you the first half, trusting you’ll know what follows:
“Two tears in a bucket…”
That was his way of saying to just put the past behind you. Ben Brown and Christopher Morel did all of their talking on the field in a 5-1 rebound win Tuesday evening. Brown pitched 4.2 innings of shutout ball and Morel blasted a middle-middle sweeper from Stephen Kolek into the Petco Park grandstands for a bases-loaded home run.
That’s not to say that the evening was anything close to Southern California smooth sailing. The Padres had traffic on the bases in each of the first four innings, but Chicago’s defenders backed Brown thanks to a couple of sublime efforts — most notably by Cody Bellinger and Nico Hoerner — and Brown doused the fire each time. The rookie was so good he drew praise from Hall of Famer Pedro Martínez.
"I think they have something special in this kid." – Pedro Martinez on Ben Brown pic.twitter.com/gwyXosnSxZ
— Matt Clapp (@TheBlogfines) April 10, 2024
The Cubs needed a star effort from Brown after Monday’s debacle and got it. The lanky righty was on a 75-pitch limit and Craig Counsell lifted him with two outs in the 5th inning. He didn’t get the win, but he was a stopper nonetheless. Good teams turn the page after bad losses and that’s precisely what Brown and the Cubs did.
Morel’s home run was much more than a Herculean blast. He put the Cubs up 5-0 and though no lead seems safe in our short-term memories, that cushion provided a much-needed respite for Chicago’s bullpen. Drew Smyly was the team’s unsung hero despite giving up a pinch-hit home run to Eguy Rosario; Chicago’s North Side Baseballers might be up 2-0 in the series had Smyly pitched the night before. There has been some chatter about moving Javier Assad to the ‘pen but Smyly is perfect in that swingman role.
Brown will probably go back to Iowa once Justin Steele or Jameson Taillon returns, but he certainly gave fans a lot to dream about yesterday evening. That’s okay, though there is no doubt he could help the parent club all season long as a starter or a reliever. The organization should keep stretch Brown out because they will need starter innings as the season progresses. Last night was but a small taste of what lies ahead on the horizon.
Cubs News & Notes
- Smyly, Yency Almonte, Mark Leiter Jr., and Adbert Alzolay combined to pick up the final 13 outs for the Cubs, allowing just one meaningless run.
- Patrick Wisdom went 2-for-4 with a double, a homer, and three RBI as a DH for Triple-A Iowa on Tuesday night. He and Matt Mervis went back-to-back in the game. Whose roster spot will Wisdom take? The third baseman still has minor league options so the Cubs can let it work itself out organically. They also have absurd redundancy at first and third with Morel, Michael Busch, Garrett Cooper, Nick Madrigal, and Miles Mastrobuoni. Bellinger can play first as well.
- I’m just thinking out loud, but the team certainly has enough corner assets to acquire a decent reliever or two while narrowing that logjam.
- Thinking out loud again: We’re only 11 games into the season but the Cubs’ Pythagorean record matches their regular season record. It’s nice to see that Counsell isn’t flailing at times the way David Ross did, specifically by not giving away games with substandard lineups. “We’ve got some good options here,” Counsell said. “We also have an everyday set of guys that are doing a really nice job as well. And we’ve had enough off days kind of spaced around this first part of the season where I’m not too worried about getting the regulars a rest so to speak.”
- Petco Park is a place of special significance for Assad.
- Hoerner has always been a big believer in Seiya Suzuki, even when the right fielder was struggling.
- Kyle Hendricks is seeking his first win of the season in this afternoon’s series finale. The Professor is 8-3 with a 2.74 ERA in 14 career starts vs. San Diego, with just 10 walks and 82 strikeouts in 88.2 innings.
- David Peralta, who is also close to returning to the Cubs, has had a long but storied journey since signing as a 17-year-old free-agent pitcher by the Cardinals in 2004.
- On Tuesday, the Red Stars announced that they will host Bay FC in a match at the Friendly Confines at 6:30 p.m. CT on June 8, marking the first NWSL game played at Wrigley Field in the ballpark’s history. Mallory, the wife of shortstop Dansby Swanson, stars for the Chicago soccer team.
- Laura Ricketts, who has an ownership stake in the Red Stars, co-hosted a fund-raising event for Joe Biden’s re-election bid.
Odds & Sods
Starring Bob Costas as the cringe-worthy grandpa…
"Cub fans… maybe Suzuki fans." – Bob Costas pic.twitter.com/ghPt38Lvcb
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) April 10, 2024
Central Intelligence
- Pittsburgh (9-3): David Bednar is struggling, he’s blown three of four save chances, and Pirates fans are being extremely cold to the closer.
- Milwaukee (7-3): Slugging first baseman Rhys Hoskins is not expecting a warm homecoming when the Brewers travel to Philadelphia to play the Phillies in early June.
- Cincinnati (6-5): The Reds believe they have a young star to build the team around in Spencer Steer.
- St. Louis (6-6): Sonny Gray finally made his first start of the season and led the Cardinals to a 3-0 win over the Phillies.
Climbing the Ladder
“You can see the morning, but I can see the light.” – Bachman-Turner Overdrive, Let It Ride
Morel now has 45 home runs in 900 career plate appearances, and yesterday’s big fly was the first grand slam of his career. Yan Gomes also hit a home run in the 5th inning, giving Brown and the Cubs a 1-0 lead. Suzuki was 3-for-5 on the night and is on something of a tear himself. Per StatMuse, he’s batting .374 with 74 hits, 13 homers, 49 RBI, and 42 runs in his last 57 games dating back to August 9, 2023. Chicago’s offense will remain a juggernaut if Morel and Suzuki continue at this pace.
In the two games since his debut in Texas, Brown has racked up 10 strikeouts against two walks over 8.2 innings of work. He’s given up just one run in that span, scattering six hits along the way. He, Steele, and Cade Horton will eventually give the Cubs a version of the Big Three that Counsell had in Milwaukee with Corbin Burnes, Brandon Woodruff, and Freddy Peralta.
- Games Played: 11
- Record: 7-4 (.636), 3rd place in NL Central
- Total Plate Appearances: 434
- Total Strikeouts: 87
- Strikeout Rate: 20%
- Team Batting Average: .264
- With Runners in Scoring Position: 26-for-92 (.283)
- Runs Scored: 69
- Runs Allowed: 52
- Pythagorean Record: 7-4
- Chances of Making the Playoffs: 81.5%, 4.7% chance to win World Series
How About That!
Jackson Holliday, the Orioles’ and baseball’s number one prospect, is headed to The Show.
The Red Sox celebrated the legacy of Tim Wakefield in an emotional reunion of their World Series-winning 2004 team.
The Yankees became the first team to reach double-digit wins as Carlos Rodón cruised through a punchless Marlins lineup in a 3-2 win.
RHP Josiah Gray of the Nationals is the latest pitcher to be derailed by an elbow injury.
The Astros are calling up RHP Spencer Arrighetti and he’ll make his MLB debut tonight. He’ll replace Framber Valdez, who hit the IL with an elbow strain.
A uniform malfunction showed a side of Riley Greene many had not seen before.
Christian Yelich is hitting the baseball as hard as he did in his 2019 MVP season.
Tuesday’s Three Stars
- Tyler Glasnow – The Dodgers righty struck out 14 batters in seven innings without issuing a walk in a 6-3 win over the Twins. Those 14 punchouts also tied a career high for Glasnow.
- Shea Langeliers – The Oakland backstop basically told Reggie Jackson to shove it up his backside with a three-tater night. He plated four runners in a 4-3 win over the Rangers.
- Morel – His 2-for-3 night included one strikeout, but his K-rate remains remarkably low at 10.9%. The slugging third baseman is on the verge of superstardom.
Honorable Mention: Ronald Acuña Jr. had two hits and three stolen bases for the Braves in a 6-5 win over the Mets.
Extra Innings
The grand slam by Morel was breathtaking but the dugout celebration was a lot more fun. Bro? Bro!
Huuug me brotha! pic.twitter.com/OvYtBVE4PX
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) April 10, 2024
They Said It
- “Super-special in the moment. My first year playing every day. … All offseason I was working hard. The guys showed me I could do it. [I’m] just trying to be more consistent, and learn from the bad days. We need to keep doing that.” – Morel
- “[Brown] has done a nice job and he’s getting a ton of feedback on being a major-league starter and going through the lineup a couple of times and that’s great for him. You can tell him, but you have to experience it. That’s what is great about this and that’s also the natural process for a starting pitcher to go through. “ – Counsell
Wednesday Walk-Up Song
Morel, Brown, Busch, etc…
