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David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

Cubs Snatch Series from Brewers on Cinco de Mayo

Originally posted on The Forkball | By IW Moon | Last updated 5/5/24

The Chicago Cubs came back and won the series against the Milwaukee Brewers on Cinco de Mayo after dropping the first game 3-1, and barely escaping the second game 6-5.

The first runs came by way of a two-run double by Nico Hoerner, later scoring on a wild pitch. He’s been on a more familiar tear after a slow start to the season. Nico blasted a home run in game two as well. More importantly, he’s leading off for the Cubs on the regular now and his defense is top-notch. He got his first Gold Glove last season.

The Cubs first Mexican-born pitcher… on Cinco de Mayo

Javier Assad wrote himself into the organizational history books by becoming the first Mexican-born pitcher to pitch for the Cubs on Cinco de Mayo. He pitched six shutout innings, capping them off with a Quality Start. Assad has been one of the Cubs most pleasant surprises of the young season.

Dansby Swanson got ahold of one in the bottom of the sixth, giving the Cubs a 4-0 lead. He also had some phenomenal plays on defense, bringing back recent memories of his own Gold Glove.

Enter Yency Almonte in the seventh, and he immediately struck out the side. He followed it up with another shutout inning in the eighth.

He’s closer to 6,1″, 200 lbs.

Christopher Morel had a perfect game OBP-wise. He took three walks and knocked in Mike Tauchman with an RBI single. Not bad for a guy listed at 5’11, and a diminutive 145 lbs. Morel is listed incorrectly, however. He’s closer to 6’1″ according to Bleacher Nation and now over 200 lbs. by word of Jon Sciambi.

This series was riddled with bad calls behind the plate. Those calls most certainly carried over into today’s game if you were to ask the Brewers fans. That’s not to say there weren’t some iffy ones against the Cubs as well. It’s just not a good season for the umpires in general.

If blame is what you seek to send, some of it should be duly directed towards the Cubs pitchers for lack of recent results. Kyle Hendricks got sent down to work out some kinks, as he’s been nothing short of awful this year. Hector Neris, who signed a $9 million deal a few months ago, seems to lack control when it matters. Still, he’s holding down a respectable 3.46 ERA on the season.

Quite the contrast to his glorious start

Recently the Cubs haven’t been hitting as well either, partly because of a slumping Michael Busch, who’s batting just .200 with no home runs and 23 strikeouts in the last 15 games. He took another four strikeouts in four at bats today. Ouch. It’s quite the contrast to his glorious start. So goes the ups and downs.

Let’s face it, some of the guys are underperforming. Ian Happ had been on a downward turn before the series. Then he picked up five hits against the Brewers. He can’t yet find his pop with only a single dinger so far this season. He’s also rocking a 0.1 WAR. Not that they’re considering replacing him. The point remains.

He’s had to navigate slippery slopes

During the series, Cubs’ manager Craig Counsell got to reintroduce himself to his former Brewers’ team, who he both played for and managed. He was also raised in Wisconsin. It was quite a meaningful reunion for him.

Since Counsell’s been with the Cubs, he’s had to navigate slippery slopes with an unacceptable number of injuries on the roster. It started with Justin Steele going down on opening day and has only gotten worse.

For his part, Steele is back. He’s slated to pitch in his much-awaited return against the San Diego Padres tomorrow.

In addition to the slick hills, Counsell has used clever coaching to stay in contention while also bringing up guys from AAA such as Pete Crow-Armstrong.

The good news is the Cubs are still getting wins despite the injuries. After today’s game, they are tied for first place in the division with the Brewers.

This article first appeared on The Forkball and was syndicated with permission.

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