Gee, winning for the 31st time sure was a lot easier than winning for the 30th time turned out to be. It took 11 tries to win number 30. But then the Cubs came right back and won their 31st, despite the immensely talented Paul Skenes being in their way. I love this for so many reasons. Obviously, winning is always more fun than losing. I love that there was such a dread that the team needed to win in that 11th try because it was a foregone conclusion that the 12th was going to be a loss. I love because I’d had this one in my head as soon as I saw the matchups. The May 1 Colin Rea over Skenes win in 2025 was memorable for me because I dropped my daughter off at an airport that day. I listened to the game in the car, at a McDonald’s and on the road. I knew. I knew this one wasn’t set in stone.
The Cubs had a number of hitting stars in the game, but unsurprisingly, the brightest star on this night in Pittsburgh was Ian Happ. Ian remains the most polarizing Cub I can think of. I will again say that Happ belongs in the middle of the lineup because he has unquestionably been the Cubs’ most productive hitter this season. Michael Busch was their most productive hitter in 2025, with a nod to extensive split protection. He’s been their most productive hitter in May and so I’m totally fine with him sitting in the third spot in the order. But none of that diminishes that Happ remains their most productive hitter year to date.
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Happ had another huge series against an NL Central foe. That’s been the calling card of his career. He has a long history of tormenting his division mates. Ignoring the A’s, who he has only 54 plate appearances against (with a .985 OPS), his three highest OPS are against the Pirates (.953), Reds (.946) and Cardinals (.905). The Brewers have held him to .767, just a bit below his career mark of .789. Happ is best in the games that matter most during the regular season. Those games against his division foes. That’s not a bad thing.
With two singles and a homer, Ian’s OBP and SLG are both above his career averages. All of these years after Moneyball, we still have to occasionally remind people that though batting average may be underrated in the modern game, it is not mandatory for being a productive hitter. I’m going to say this for all of the remaining 105 games of the regular season and however many postseason games this team plays in. As long as Ian is on this team, he belongs in left field the overwhelming majority of the games. Everyone should get days off and fortunately this team has decent depth. But this team is best with Ian on the field. I can certainly see a path forward in 2027 that doesn’t include Ian on the Cubs, but while he’s here he should play. Also know that even those paths forward without Ian in 2027 don’t necessarily make the team better.
My other note in this game is: Once again, the high leverage situations really didn’t materialize. Without looking at exactly how Baseball Reference sets the baskets relative to leverage stats, we generally think of them as late in a close game. Myself, I think of the sixth and the seventh as medium leverage and the eighth and ninth as high leverage and then adjust upward or downward based upon the score. The Cubs briefly had a 3-0 lead, threatened to give that away before escaping 3-2. The seventh inning was arguably a high leverage situation, definitely at least medium with a one run lead. Then the Cubs scored three in the eighth and blew it open.
The Cubs have just 10 saves in 57 games. That places them in a tie for 25th in MLB, the bottom 20 percent of all teams. In that bottom 20 percent, the only other team with a winning record is the Pirates with a matching 10 saves in 57 games. The Dodgers have just three more saves, but have won close to two-thirds of their games and have the largest run differential in baseball. It’s so odd for the Cubs to so consistently not have high leverage situations.
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Three Positives:
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Ian Happ. Three hits, one a two-run homer.
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Colin Rea was very sharp and kept the Cubs in this game while the offense got started. Two earned over 5.1 innings. Just four hits and three walks allowed.
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Seiya Suzuki didn’t exactly scorch the ball, but he had two singles and two runs batted in. He scored once.
Game 57, May 28: Cubs 7, Pirates 2 (31-26)
Reminder: Heroes and Goats are determined by WPA scores and are in no way subjective.
THREE HEROES:
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Superhero: Ian Happ (.337). 3-5, HR, 2 RBI, R
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Hero: Colin Rea (.196). 5.1 IP, 23 BF, 4 H, 3 BB, 2 ER, 5 K (W 5-3)
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Sidekick: Seiya Suzuki (.182). 2-5, 2 RBI, R
THREE GOATS:
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Goat: Moisés Ballesteros (-.077). 0-2
WPA Play of the Game: Ian Happ hit a two-run homer with two outs in the eighth to extend the lead to three runs. (.201)
Pirates Play of the Game: Tyler Callihan doubled with a runner on first in the sixth, cutting the gap to one. (.148)
Cubs Player of the Game:
Game 56 Winner: Ian Happ received 125 of 138 votes
Game 55 Winner: Alex Bregman received 52 of 84 votes.
Rizzo Award Standings: (Top 5/Bottom 5)
The award is named for Anthony Rizzo, who finished first in this category three of the first four years it was in existence and four times overall. He also recorded the highest season total ever at +65.5. The point scale is three points for a Superhero down to negative three points for a Billy Goat.
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Michael Busch +21
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Alex Bregman/Ian Happ +9.5
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Michael Conforto/Nico Hoerner +9
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Jameson Taillon/Phil Maton -9
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Seiya Suzuki -26.5
Current Win Pace: 88.11 wins
Up Next: The first series of the year against the Cardinals (29-25). Whoever wins the series will leave town ahead of the other, probably in second place. The Cardinals have lost four straight and with a -10 run differential, there remain questions as to how good they actually are. They’ve played 24 games against teams currently under .500 (12-12) while the Cubs have only played 12 such games (6-6). Neither team is capitalizing when they get the chance.
Shōta Imanaga (4-5, 4.04, 64.2 IP) makes his 12th start of the year. He’s lost his last three, allowing 17 earned runs in 17.1 innings. The Cardinals are 6-5 against left-handed starters. As a team, the Cardinals have a 95 wRC+ against left-handed pitching. This feels like a good matchup for Shōta to get back on track.
27-year-old Andre Pallante (5-4, 3.76, 55 IP) will make his 11th start of the year for the Cardinals. He’s 2-1 over his last three while pitching very well (5 ER in 17.2 IP). He’s struck out 15 and walked only four in there. Despite being a guy who’s been around for a while, I don’t have any memory of him.
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Last August 9, he started a game against the Cubs and only recorded five outs while surrendering six runs on seven hits. Michael Busch took him deep and Dansby Swanson and Carson Kelly each had a three hit day. That game was in St. Louis, so for the second straight day, the Cubs look out an opponent they beat on their own field last year.
Look for another good game and series out of Happ.
Go Cubs!
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: Sports.yahoo.com
