“Tell the devil that he can go back from where he came. His fiery arrows drew their beat in vain.” – Brandon Flowers, Crossfire The Cubs were being no-hit by Luis Severino until a broken-bat single by Dansby Swanson breathed a little life into Chicago’s non-existent offense. Christopher Morel won the game two innings later with a monstrous home run off of Mets closer Edwin Díaz. The Brewers lost and the Cubs, who set a record for wins through April, are now in first place. MO’ MONEY FOR THE LEAD ? pic.twitter.com/7AtEusjKLA — Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) April 30, 2024 Morel and Sw ..read more

Cade Horton is a bad man. The Cubs’ top pitching prospect dominated across three levels of the minors last season, ending his year at Double-A Tennessee. He was back there again to start the 2024 campaign following a little work at extended spring training to complete a controlled preseason program, but now he’s moving on up to Iowa. As reported by Tommy Birch of the Des Moines Register, the Cubs are promoting Horton to Triple-A. Some big Cubs news: The Cubs are promoting prized pitching prospect Cade Horton to Triple-A with the @IowaCubs. — Tommy Birch (@TommyBirch) April 30, 2024 Through f ..read more

With their two most dangerous hitters still on the shelf indefinitely, the Cubs really need someone to step up and carry the load offensively. Christopher Morel was able to shake off his funk to provide a late spark Monday night, but Michael Busch was 0-for-4 with a pair of strikeouts and could use another big game. Though he’s had three multihit games out of 11 since his home run binge, he’s gone hitless in seven of those contests and hasn’t left the yard once. Not only has the power been absent — he has just one double — his plate discipline is all out of whack with a 41.3% strikeout rate an ..read more

The Cubs and Mets began their series at Citi Field Monday night with a low-scoring affair that was decided on a dramatic home run in the final inning. Both starters worked into the 8th but it was Chicago that was able to do damage against New York’s elite closer en route to victory. The Mets took the lead in their first at bat of the game when Brandon Nimmo hit a solo home run off of Jameson Taillon. The righty was incredibly sharp after that, allowing only three hits over the next 7.1 innings of work. Unfortunately, New York starter Luis Severino was even better Monday as he kept the Cubs wit ..read more

The Cubs (17-11) were rolling entering their matchup against the Red Sox after sweeping the Astros at Wrigley Field. Chicago was able to take the first game of the series but Boston recovered to grab the last two. Injuries continue to weigh on Craig Counsell‘s squad as they prepare to play four games against the Mets at Citi Field starting Monday. New York (14-13) stumbled out of the gate in 2024, losing their first five before winning seven of eight to get back above the .500 mark. Their .704 team OPS is right in the middle of baseball at 15th, but they’ve got some big hitters. Cubs fans don ..read more

The Cubs and Red Sox met for the rubber match of their three-game series at Fenway Park Sunday night and it looked early as if it would be another easy win for the home team. Unlike Saturday night, however, Chicago staged a dramatic late rally to tie the score before ultimately losing in walk off fashion. Hayden Wesneski got the start for the injured Jordan Wicks and ran into problems in the opening frame. A Nico Hoerner error followed by a walk put two men on base with two outs for catcher Connor Wong, who singled home a run. Wong added an RBI single that bounced off the third base bag in the ..read more

The Cubs have already shown an ability to bounce back from tough losses, but yesterday wasn’t nearly the same as other contests that saw them snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. They were absolutely boatraced in a laugher that you can’t even begin to take seriously, so you do what Joe Maddon always talked about and you throw it in the trash. Even so, the series is on the line tonight in Boston. Jordan Wicks was initially scheduled to take this start, but he was scratched due to left forearm tightness and will be replaced by Hayden Wesneski. This is the righty’s first start of the season af ..read more

The Cubs announced Sunday that lefty Jordan Wicks has been placed on the 15-day IL with a left forearm strain, which was pretty much to be expected and doesn’t shed much light on the severity of the issue. Justin Steele went on the IL last June for the same reason and was out just over two weeks, so this could be the same sort of precautionary measure. It’s possible, however, that “strain” is a euphemism for something worse. Wicks told the media he’s had lingering soreness and that he’s not concerned, so let’s lean toward that being the case. A few other pitching moves were made Sunday as well ..read more

The injury bug hanging around the Cubs must be a mosquito because it just keeps coming back and buzzing in their collective ear even when it’s not biting. Justin Steele, Julian Merryweather, Kyle Hendricks, Drew Smyly, Seiya Suzuki, and Cody Bellinger are all currently on the IL and several active players have previously spent time on the shelf this season. And though we don’t yet know the fates of Jordan Wicks and Christopher Morel, both are now dealing with something. Morel left Saturday’s game after making a catch on the run and tumbling over Alexander Canario, landing hard on his elbows. H ..read more

Randall Sanders (@RandallJSanders) from the Behind the Yellow Line podcast joins Sean to discuss the Cubs’ excellent start to 2024. Nico Hoerner is hot and Javier Assad is very consistent. Will injuries and bullpen struggles slow things down? All that and PCA gets on the board in a big way. The post New Holy Cow! Podcast: Randall Sanders on Cubs’ Hot Start appeared first on Cubs Insider ..read more