Cubs takeaways: What we learned as Chicago takes series in Milwaukee
For a matchup that’s been a bitter rivalry for the better part of a decade, the Cubs-Brewers showdown this year has looked a little more lopsided.
The Cubs found their footing quickly on offense again during Saturday night’s 6-2 win, crushing three home runs and securing the series over Milwaukee.
Chicago has hardly let the Brewers get a word in over the last 18 innings, outscoring their I-94 neighbors 16-2 thus far.
Here are three takeaways as the Cubs (21-13) beat the Brewers (16-18) at American Family Field.
Pete Crushes Again
Nothing has changed since Friday night — Pete Crow-Armstrong can still hit the ball very far. Coming off a multi-home run game in the Cubs’ 10-0 rout of the Brewers, Crow-Armstrong clobbered another one — this time driving José Quintana’s fastball offering to right-center field for a three-run shot and his ninth of the season.
If it seems like Crow-Armstrong is hitting home runs at a rapid pace, it’s because he is: all nine have come since April 13, the most in MLB over that span. Last season, he hit 10 in 123 games. This year, he is nearly on pace to hit 43.
With Crow-Armstrong’s breakout on offense and his consistency as the most valuable defender in baseball (per Fangraphs), the 23-year-old has already cemented himself as one of MLB’s newest superstars.
Kings of the longball
As a team, the Cubs have hit three or more home runs in 10 games this season – the most in MLB. Last year, they had 13 games with three or more home runs over the entire season.
Anyone who watches the Cubs play knows it’s not just Crow-Armstrong hitting homers. Dansby Swanson and Kyle Tucker joined the parade as well Saturday, with Swanson going back-to-back with Crow-Armstrong in the fourth inning for his seventh of the year.
Tucker swatted one to the right field bleachers in the next frame, equalling both Crow-Armstrong and Seiya Suzuki with nine on the year. All three are tied for fifth-most in MLB.
Locking it down
The Cubs’ bullpen opened the year with a tough stretch, at one point owning a bottom-five bullpen ERA in MLB. Between a few blown leads, relief pitching was looking like a major concern for Chicago.
In this series, that has not been the case at all. Between new addition Chris Flexen, who threw a three-inning, 54-pitch save on Friday night in relief to spare arms, and Saturday’s choices in Julian Merryweather and Brad Keller, the Cubs’ bullpen has yet to allow a run to a Brewers offense that is tied for ninth in the league in runs per game – hardly easy outs all around.
Keller completed the final six outs for the Cubs while lowering his ERA to 4.30. In the process, the Cubs have gotten to preserve higher-leverage arms like Porter Hodge and Daniel Palencia – which bodes well for a tough series against the San Francisco Giants beginning Monday.
The Cubs will look to get a sweep Sunday at 1:10 p.m. CT. Shota Imanaga, who exited his last start in Pittsburgh with leg cramps, is healthy and slated to take the mound for Chicago.
