BOX SCORE

The Cubs had the opportunity to bounce back after dropping an epic pitcher’s duel on Friday night.

They did just that, receiving yet another quality outing from their starter in the process. The Cubs beat the Detroit Tigers 6-1 at Comerica Park on Saturday afternoon. The Cubs (40-24) hit five home runs in the win, which paired well with a strong performance from Jameson Taillon.

Here are three takeaways from the win over the Tigers (42-24):

Home run derby

Hitting home runs isn’t easy. Sending them out at Detroit’s pitcher-friendly park is a greater challenge.

That’s what makes Saturday’s five-home-run outburst against the American League’s standard even more impressive. Seiya Suzuki (twice), Pete Crow-Armstrong, Michael Busch and Matt Shaw all went deep at Comerica Park, which had allowed the eighth-fewest long balls entering Saturday. There had been just two games this season at Comerica Park where teams had combined for five or more home runs. It was the second time this season the Cubs had five or more homers in a game, with the first on April 18 in a 13-11 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks at Wrigley Field.

The Cubs had the fifth-most home runs as a team entering Saturday and used the long ball to beat the Tigers. It was quite the 180-degree turn after the Cubs faced reigning AL Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal on Friday. Runs were at a premium then. Three batters in and Suzuki had matched the run output from Friday with a 104.9-mph line drive home run to left field.

Busch extended the Cubs’ lead with a two-run blast in the fifth, which marked his 10th of the season and made him the fifth Cub to reach double-digit home runs this season. Shaw’s homer was the first by a Cubs’ third baseman this season. His first homer of the year in Arizona was as a pinch hitter.

Big strike zone? No problem

Home plate umpire Doug Eddings’ strike zone was a topic of conversation on Saturday’s broadcast. We mean that quite literally. The field microphones were loud enough that they were picking up Eddings’ voice as he argued back with some in the Cubs dugout early in the contest.

The arguments were valid from both sides. Eddings had some questionable strike calls, particularly Pete Crow-Armstrong’s strikeout in the fourth inning.

Strike zones can be a sore spot for big-league hitters. They’re so good at knowing the strike zone and their hitting spots in particular that being rung up on pitches that they know are outside can be frustrating. It can lead to expanding the strike zone and poor results.

Well, except if you’re Crow-Armstrong, who seemingly thrives on pitches below the zone. He crushed a solo home run in the seventh inning on a Keider Montero curveball that was shin high. It’s Crow-Armstrong’s fourth home run below the strike zone, an impressive feat and his 17th overall season.

Ja-Mo-re of the same

Ben Brown went toe-to-toe Skubal on Friday night and right-hander Jameson Taillon followed it up with another excellent outing, allowing just one run on three hits with five strikeouts in seven innings of work.

He’s been oh, so good for the Cubs this season, particularly of late. Taillon sports a 1.69 ERA and 0.71 WHIP in his last four outings. The Cubs are 4-0 in those starts. He has thrown four straight quality starts and has nine in 13 starts this outing. That, my friends, will play.

Taillon isn’t a flashy pitcher, but he has pitched like a front-of-the-rotation arm as of late. That’s important because the Cubs have been without their two top-of-the-rotation starters for over a month now. Those types of injuries could torpedo a season. Instead, the Cubs have rolled with the punches and remained a top the National League Central.

If Taillon keeps doing that and you throw in Shota Imanaga’s return later this month with Matthew Boyd’s strong start to 2025, that’s the makings of a strong front of the rotation without taking into account any potential external additions.