The nine-figure contracts given to Yu Darvish and Jason Heyward - and how they’ve played since signing - have been blamed for all sorts of Cubs woes.
They weren’t in on Bryce Harper or Manny Machado? It’s those two megadeals. The only way the Cubs were able to add Craig Kimbrel is because of Ben Zobrist’s absence? Yep, thank the budget crunch partly created by the money due Darvish and Heyward.
The way things are going, however, some of that chatter might subside. And chatter aside, it would be a big help to the Cubs if Heyward and Darvish continue living up to their contracts like they have recently.
Heyward homered, tripled and drove in three runs while Darvish threw five strong innings to lead the Cubs to a 7-2 win Sunday over the Brewers. Kyle Schwarber also homered for the Cubs, who completed the three-game sweep of Milwaukee and stayed atop the NL Central.
“We’ve gone back and forth with these guys,” manager Joe Maddon said of the Brewers. “Every game is kind of the old dogfight, and they’re good. They’re really good.”
The Cubs were better this weekend, outscoring Milwaukee 17-5. On Sunday, Heyward and Darvish were big reasons why.
Heyward’s homer was the ninth of his career to lead off a game, and he finished Sunday with an OPS of .825, 94 points higher than his 2018 mark of .731. With Nicholas Castellanos playing in right, Heyward has been shifted to center and is adjusting to more time away from right while helping to carry the offense.
“It’s nice to play. It’s nice to have that opportunity,” Heyward said. “This game, you’ve got to earn that, and it’s nice to go out there and make the most of it.”
Darvish, meanwhile, allowed five hits and struck out eight and walked none, winning his second straight Wrigley start. It didn’t matter that he was somewhat under the weather (and unavailable to the media): his best run as a Cubs pitcher continued.
He had a 2.93 ERA in July and struck out 36 batters while walking only two, which carried over to Sunday. He also helped Cubs starters avoid issuing a walk for the sixth straight game, the first time the franchise has done that since at least 1905.
“He’s pitching as well as anybody in the league right now,” Maddon said. “Everybody’s going to talk about all these other dudes, but right now physically on a game-by-game basis, nobody’s pitching better than he is.”
Cubs fans have also taken to Darvish. Instead of hearing boos like he did in 2018 before his season ended prematurely, the crowd of 40,466 greeted him with plenty of enthusiastic YUUUUUUUs.
“He’s pitching really well, and he has confidence,” said Anthony Rizzo, who matched a career high with four hits. “He’s having fun in the clubhouse. It’s been fun to see him evolve here as a Cub.”
Contributions from Heyward and Darvish could be especially crucial this season. The Central race is close, and the Cubs don’t know yet when they’ll get Willson Contreras back on the field or whether any other issues could arise.
Sweeping the Brewers didn’t hurt the Cubs’ chances, though Rizzo expects the division race to be tight again.
“It’s going to come down to the wire. We know that,” Rizzo said. “It can be spit up, chewed out, thrown in a hundred different computers, but it’s going to come down to the wire. That’s the way it’s going to be this year and we’re ready.
“We’re ready to just keep playing.”
.png?w=600)
