For one big swing in Wednesday night’s first inning, Willson Contreras took care of Cubs business with men in scoring position – driving his third career grand slam into the left-field basket.
Until then, the Cubs were the worst team in the National League at hitting with men in scoring position at just .243.
It’s the biggest factor that has held the Cubs from an extended hot streak in recent weeks, manager Joe Maddon said, especially in games such as Tuesday night against the White Sox, when they got another seven impressive innings of starting pitching (this time from Cole Hamels), only to lose 3-1 in the ninth.
“We have to be better in that moment,” Maddon said. “That speaks to the [team getting on] runs, that speaks to the 3-2 win or the 6-5 win. And we’ve got to figure those moments out.”
The Cubs entered Wednesday’s game having scored three runs or fewer in five consecutive games and 12 of their previous 22. They went 9-13 in that stretch, losing three games in the standings to Milwaukee.
“I don’t think we’re having bad at-bats,” right fielder Jason Heyward said. “We’ve been playing good teams, facing good pitching.”
That definitely has played a role in recent series against the Astros’ and Dodgers’ pitching staffs as well as Cincinnati’s and the Cardinals’ top-five bullpens.
And the Cubs are doing almost everything else well at the plate, including a top-three on-base percentage in the NL, creating more scoring chances than most.
But the scoring-position numbers look more troublesome when viewed as a trend.
In their first 268 at-bats with men in scoring position, the Cubs hit .284.
In their next 268 (through Kris Bryant’s first-inning strikeout Wednesday): .201.
“We were good coming out of the chute, and then we’ve gotten away from it,” he said of the better at-bats with more focus on the middle and opposite field in those situations.
He said he doesn’t know why the change. But that difference corresponds exactly with veteran Ben Zobrist’s departure from the team to take care of family issues.
Regardless, Maddon said, “We should be better than that, no question. …
“There’s still time to be able to do that,” he said, “but that also speaks to why our record is as pedestrian as it is.”
Bloop oops
As unusual as it might have seemed to see a broken-bat home run Tuesday night (Eloy Jimenez in the ninth), at least as unusual was Bryant failing to run aggressively on a high pop to shallow center that fell between three Sox fielders in the eighth inning of a tie game.
“I was a little disappointed in myself; I probably should have been on second base,” Bryant said. “That’s my fault. It’s not going to happen again. That’s something I take pride it. I was a little shocked it fell in.”
Instead of the Cubs having at least two shots to drive the run in from second, the inning was over quickly when Anthony Rizzo followed by grounding into a double play.
“We’ll talk about it, but when guys are accountable – which our guys are – it goes a long way,” Maddon said. “When people admit their mistakes it’s pretty easy to move along.”
Kimbrel watch
Newly signed closer Craig Kimbrel is scheduled to make his second appearance for Class AAA Iowa on Friday, keeping him on track to join the Cubs’ bullpen by the end of the 10-game homestand next week.
After a spring-like prep period in Arizona, Kimbrel needed just eight pitches Tuesday in his first game action of the season: a 1-2-3 inning that included a strikeout for Iowa.
