The Cubs went into this one with a chance to complete a three-game sweep of the Astros at a sunny and breezy Wrigley Field Thursday afternoon. Chicago received another outstanding starting pitching effort and one big swing from top prospect Pete Crow-Armstrong turned out to be the deciding factor in a low-scoring victory. Javier Assad had his only issue right out of the gate with the first three batters of the game as José Altuve and Alex Bregman hit back-to-back singles to put runners on the corners with no one out. Yordan Álvarez then hit a sacrifice fly to give Houston a 1-0 lead, but Assad ..read more

There’s been concern voiced about Pete Crow-Armstrong from some pundits who haven’t been impressed with his inability to get a hit in his first 14 at-bats. And yes, that should be a joke but it’s not. It’s true, PCA has some work to do before we can anoint him as the next big thing in Chicago, but if the home run he hit today is an indication of what’s to come, watch out. This kid has mojo the likes of which you do not see every day, and if he can get rolling in Chicago this summer we’re going to be in for quite a ride. First @MLB hit ️ First big-league HR ️ CUBS LEAD ? pic.twitter.com/2JFe1Q ..read more

In news that feels like it’s at least five years old, the Cubs have reportedly agreed to a minor league deal with 35-year-old righty Dan Straily. That comes via Craig Mish of the Miami Herald, who tweeted that the split deal is done pending a physical. Cubs fans may remember Straily for his brief stint with the team back in 2014, when he put up an 11.85 ERA over seven games near the end of the season. Straily bounced around between several organizations over eight big league seasons and has spent the past four seasons with the KBO’s Lotte Giants. His performance has been up and down, but he’s ..read more

It’s Getaway Day, which means a full slate of afternoon baseball across MLB. The Cubs are shipping up to Boston after this one and it sure would be nice to do so on the wave of a sweep. The first game was a pretty easy victory and the second was a nail-biter that saw them barely hang on after producing all of their offense in the opening frame. How about a blowout in this one? Javier Assad has proven capable of holding his opponents down, with no more than two earned runs allowed in any of his four previous starts. He has had some control issues, however, as evidenced by three walks in two of ..read more

“Why not think about times to come? And not about the things that you’ve done?” – Fleetwood Mac, Don’t Stop The Cubs beat the Astros 4-3 last night and are now 15-9 despite many of their best players missing time to injuries. That list includes Justin Steele, Seiya Suzuki, Julian Merryweather, and Cody Bellinger. Jameson Taillon just returned from the IL and earned his second win of the season yesterday. The Cubs could be one of the league’s tougher teams once the entire roster is healthy. Perhaps it’s time to restart the Quantifying Hope series. Craig Counsell‘s team certainly qualifies as re ..read more

The Cubs played host to the Astros on a cold and windy Wednesday night at Wrigley and once again jumped ahead early. Unlike Tuesday’s game, Chicago was not able to expand on the lead in this contest and had to sweat out a one-run victory to secure a series win. The Cubs immediately rallied on Houston starter Spencer Arrighetti with singles from Nico Hoerner and Ian Happ to put runners on the corners with one out in the 1st. Michael Busch then came to bat and hit a high sacrifice fly to center field to give his team a 1-0 advantage. That was not the end of the scoring in the opening frame, howe ..read more

The Cubs cruised to a win in the series opener against their former NL Central opponents from Houston to set themselves up nicely for the second game. Another victory could move the Cubs into first place in the division depending on what happens between the Brewers and Pirates, though it’s still too early for the standings to matter much. Everything will work out if they keep scoring runs and avoiding big losing streaks. It helps that Jameson Taillon is back and pitching like the guy the Cubs thought they’d signed prior to last season, even if we’re only going off of one start. He appears to h ..read more

As Craig Counsell shared with 670 The Score’s Parkins & Spiegel Show Wednesday afternoon, Cody Bellinger suffered two fractured ribs while crashing into the wall attempting to make a play Tuesday night. Initial x-rays were negative, but a subsequent CT scan revealed the fractures. Bellinger will be placed on the IL while he heals and the Cubs will recall Pete Crow-Armstrong to take the open spot. This comes at a bad time because Bellinger has been in a groove at the plate with an eight-game hitting streak that includes three homers and a triple. That production helped to make up for Christ ..read more

“Locked and loaded…Still, the same old decent lazy eyes fixed through your gaze.” – Silversun Pickups, Lazy Eye Cubs manager Craig Counsell needed somebody to step up and give him innings, and Jordan Wicks answered the call. The rookie starter pitched six quality innings to lead the Cubs to a 7-2 win over the sinking Astros. Wicks allowed two runs on five hits with four strikeouts to help the North Siders pull to within a half-game of the NL Central lead. It was a ballsy performance that showed, once again, Chicago’s ability to avoid elongated losing streaks. The Cubs have not lost more than t ..read more

The Cubs welcomed the Astros to Wrigley Field for the first of a three game series Tuesday night. Chicago put on a power display in the opening inning and built a lead that was never really challenged, eventually winning comfortably. The Cubs went ahead three hitters into the game when Cody Bellinger hit a majestic two-run home run to right field off of J.P. France. Then a walk and a single put a pair on base for Mike Tauchman, who went the opposite way for a three-run dinger into the basket in left. Who wants to see some home run replays? Look between Y and I on your keyboard. pic.twitter.co ..read more