Three up, three down: An update on the Cubs, June 2 edition

The Cubs had an excellent homestand, winning five of six.

You really couldn’t have asked for a better homestand for the Cubs, going 5-1 and getting solid performances out of a lot of players. They’re entering the final three games of a 21-game stretch in which they are playing teams under .500. So far they are 14-4, which is also the best record in MLB since May 11.

Keep it going, Cubs!

Here’s who’s hot and not for the Cubs over the past week.

Three up

Michael Busch’s bat is beginning to heat up

Busch started just four of the six games and pinch-hit in a fifth. Even so, he hit well: .417/.500/.833 (5-for-12) with a triple and a home run. The home run was his first since May 9 [VIDEO].

Busch has tended to hit his home runs in clusters since he joined the Cubs last year. Hopefully this is the first of several to come soon.

Matt Shaw didn’t hit much, but his defense has been outstanding

Check out this play from Sunday’s game, one of two excellent stops he made:

In just 30 games (28 starts) at third base this year, Shaw has already posted 0.4 defensive bWAR.

Now if he could only start hitting…

Daniel Palencia has seized the closer role

Palencia has allowed runs in just one of his last 16 outings, and over the last week successfully converted three save chances. In those three games, two against the Rockies and one against the Reds, he faced nine batters, did not allow a baserunner, and struck out five.

Here’s his K of Jake Fraley to end Saturday’s game [VIDEO].

That’s an absolutely unhittable pitch, a rising 101 mile per hour fastball.

In my view, Palencia should remain at closer even when Porter Hodge is ready to return.

Honorable mention here to Ben Brown for his outstanding six-inning, one-hit, nine-strikeout outing against the Reds on Saturday. Keep it up, Ben!

Three down

Colin Rea had a rough outing

Friday against the Reds, Rea served up three home runs and allowed six runs in 5⅔ innings, eating up some additional innings to help save the bullpen. Over his last five starts, Rea has a 6.18 ERA and seven home runs allowed in 27⅔ innings.

Rea’s next start would come up on Thursday. As of now, that game is listed as “TBD” for the Cubs starter. Perhaps Craig Counsell will try an opener, as he did with Brown on Saturday.

Carson Kelly’s pixie dust has apparently worn off

I think we all knew Kelly wouldn’t hit like he did in April forever, but I think we’d hoped he would at least hit… a little. In four games over the homestand, Kelly went 0-for-11 with one walk.

While Miguel Amaya is out, Kelly essentially becomes the No. 1 catcher, likely catching 5-6 games per week. Here’s hoping he can land somewhere in between “otherworldly” and “awful” over this road trip. He will get a chance to face one of his old teams, the Tigers, over the weekend.

Ryan Brasier has a unique distinction

Honestly, I had to really stretch to find a third player for “three down” this week, because pretty much everyone else on the Cubs at least had a decent homestand.

Brasier is the only Cubs reliever who allowed an earned run… for the entire homestand. Chris Flexen allowed an extra-inning run Tuesday against the Rockies, and those are scored as unearned. That run, and the run Brasier allowed Sunday in the ninth inning, are the only two runs allowed by Cubs relievers over the six games in 19⅔ innings. That’s an ERA of 0.46, and they allowed seven hits and seven walks (0.712 WHIP) with 17 strikeouts.

That’s just outstanding work by the Cubs pen. Maybe they actually have an eight-man Circle of Trust.