The Cubs had an… interesting week.
The Cubs had a 3-4 road trip to St. Louis and Houston. Which isn’t great, but isn’t terrible either. They began the week with a 3½-game division lead and still lead by two, which… isn’t great, but isn’t terrible either.
Hopefully, a six-game homestand will help them increase that lead again.
Here’s who’s hot and who’s not for the Cubs over the last week.
Three up
Kyle Tucker enjoyed his homecoming in Houston
Tucker and his former Astros teammate Ryan Pressly were greeted warmly by Houston fans and given a tribute video.
Then Tucker went out and had a 4-for-5 game with four runs scored and a home run.
Over the week he batted .345/.387/.621 (10-for-29) with two doubles, two home runs, six RBI and eight runs scored, which at least puts him in the running for NL Player of the Week.
Last week I wrote that he wasn’t a great fielder, but he made a couple of really nice defensive plays in Houston, including this throw to the plate Friday [VIDEO].
The collective bullpen did it again
Some Cubs starters had a rough week, but the pen kept games close. Over the seven games, the Cubs bullpen allowed one run (the homer served up by Porter Hodge in Saturday’s blowout win) in 25⅓ innings for an ERA of 0.36. Since April 19 the Cubs pen leads MLB with a 2.40 ERA in 62 games.
Nico Hoerner, suddenly a power hitter
Hoerner did not homer in his first 74 games of the year, then hit three on the road trip in seven games. He had gone 321 plate appearances since his last home run before he homered in St. Louis last Tuesday. He’s on a 15-game on-base streak, and over the seven games of the road trip Nico batted .400/.444/.760 (10-for-25) with five runs scored. He’s another candidate for NL Player of the Week.
Here’s his first homer, hit Tuesday in St. Louis, that cut an 8-5 deficit to 8-7 [VIDEO].
Three down
Pete Crow-Armstrong had a rough week
Just after it was revealed that PCA finished first among NL outfielders in Phase 1 of All-Star voting, he had one of the worst weeks of his season, batting just .185/.207/.296 (5-for-27).
His weakness vs. LHP is showing. For the season, PCA has a .931 OPS in 246 PA against RHP, but just a .610 OPS in 103 PA vs. LHP. Over the week, lefthanded pitching neutralized PCA, as he went 3-for-14 against them. (Not that he did any better vs. RHP.)
Hopefully, playing at Wrigley Field will help him. PCA has an .874 OPS at home this year compared to .803 on the road, though he has hit 12 of his 21 home runs away from Wrigley.
Jameson Taillon needs a reset
Taillon gutted it out into the fifth inning Sunday, but between that and his disastrous outing in St. Louis, Jamo posted a 10.38 ERA on the road trip, with four home runs allowed in 8⅔ innings.
Those two outings have badly skewed his home/road splits. He now has a 5.40 ERA on the road compared to 3.45 at Wrigley Field, and of the 22 home runs he’s allowed, 14 have come on the road.
His next start should come up Saturday against the Cardinals. Hopefully, this one against St. Louis will be better than the last one.
The Cubs need better bench players
Not counting Reese McGuire, who only plays catcher, the Cubs’ other bench players — Justin Turner, Jon Berti and Vidal Bruján — went 3-for-14 (.231) on the road trip. Overall these three players are batting .202/.266/.247 (45-for-223) with one home run (Turner) and 50 strikeouts.
That’s just… bad. And if and when Craig Counsell starts any of these players, it results in a significant downgrade defensively.
In addition to acquiring a top starting pitcher before the trade deadline, Jed Hoyer should try to find better substitutes.