AP Photo/Erin Hooley

The Rundown: Cubs Ride Winning Streak into LA, Heart of Order Getting Hot, Yanks Drub BoSox

Photo of Michael Canter Michael CanterApril 24, 2026

“We hear you’re leaving, that’s okay. I thought our little wild time had just begun. I guess you kind of scared yourself, you turn and run…but if you have a change of heart.” — Rikki Don’t Lose That Number by Steely Dan

Nine wins in a row has a nice ring, doesn’t it? The Cubs certainly caught the Mets and the Phillies at the right time, but with the way the North Siders are playing, they could beat just about anybody. They’ll get the chance to prove that thanks to a six-game West Coast swing against the Dodgers and Padres. Nevertheless, some fans on social media are already conceding those games and reconciling that the Cubs only be a game over .500 upon leaving the Golden State. Seriously?

Chicago’s North Side baseballers beat the Dodgers four times in seven games last season, and they won’t face Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, or Tyler Glasnow this weekend. They were 3-3 against the Friars in 2025 and then beat them in the Wild Card round in October. If the Cubs keep scoring 7-8 runs per game, they’ll win both series. I mean, Mason Miller can’t pitch every inning, and he probably won’t face the Cubs more than twice in the series. If our heroes can jump to and hold a lead in each game, Miller will be on furlough for three days.

Chicago won’t stay hot forever, but this year’s team doesn’t appear to be susceptible to long losing streaks, either. Therefore, winning three or four of the six contests against the top NL West teams doesn’t seem so far-fetched. It helps that Alex Bregman, Michael Busch, Seiya Suzuki, and Pete Crow-Armstrong are heating up. The quartet was instrumental in sweeping the Phillies.

  • Crow-Armstrong was 5-for-14 (.357) with a double and two RBI in the four-game set with the Phillies.
  • Busch was 6-for-19 (.316) with two home runs and seven RBI.
  • Suzuki went yard three times and was 7-for-13 (.539) with three walks. That’s good, yes?
  • Bregman was 7-for-18 (.389) with a triple. He also drew three walks in the series.

We wondered if the Cubs were going to break out of their early-season slump and were promised they would. They’ve done so with a vengeance. The offense seems almost relentless at times. The Cubs have been in attack mode all week, and they’re averaging seven runs and 12 hits per game during their winning streak. That kind of serious firepower puts a lot of pressure on their opponents. An offense that functions at that level also removes a lot of stress from the pitching staff, though a couple of unearned runs made yesterday’s 8-7 walk-off win in 10 innings a little closer than it should have been.

Those things happen, and the Cubs showed real resiliency after blowing a 6-2 lead. With that in mind, I have some predictions to share. Chicago will win four of the six games in Los Angeles and San Diego, and the Cubs will be the first team this year to score off of Miller, who has allowed just two earned runs in 45.2 innings (0.39 ERA) since arriving from the A’s last season. I also believe PCA will get his first homer of the 2026 campaign against the Dodgers tonight or tomorrow.

Don’t let your insecurities derail the best Cubs team since 2016. Think positive, and lots of good things will follow.

Cubs News & Notes

  • The one guy who has hit a bit of a dry spell is Nico Hoerner. He singlehandedly carried the team for so long that we’ve all raised our expectations. Hoerner was only 4-for-19 (.211) to close out the homestand, though he did hit his fourth homer of the year on Tuesday.
  • With a newly-minted $141 million extension and a red-hot start at the plate, Hoerner has been one of baseball’s feel-good stories to start the season.
  • The Cubs’ postseason odds soared to 74% on the strength of their current streak. That’s third-best in the National League.
  • Their nine-game winning streak is the longest in the majors this season, and the team’s longest since 2016.
  • The Cubs are relying on offense to win games ($) despite battling myriad pitching injuries. They’re third in baseball with 139 runs scored and tied for second with a 122 wRC+. They’re third in batting average, second in on-base percentage, and have the 23rd-lowest strikeout rate in the game. With three doubles and three home runs Thursday, their ISO is up to .154 on the season.
  • Busch was the lone lefty in yesterday’s lineup and paid huge dividends. His three-run blast was a 421-foot shot to center field, and it was the first home run Cristopher Sánchez surrendered this year to a same-side hitter.
  • Scott Kingery hasn’t been the answer Craig Counsell was hoping for, so the front office acquired infielder Nicky Lopez…again. Lopez is a favorite of Counsell and was acquired for cash from the Rockies.
  • Caleb Thielbar left yesterday’s game with a leg injury.
  • The Cubs didn’t yet know postgame whether they would need to make a roster move ahead of their road trip. There aren’t many pitchers left at Iowa that are currently on the team’s 40-man roster.
  • More accolades for prospect Pedro Ramírez. Baseball America hints at a multi-grade jump ($) in impact and contact quality. Don’t be surprised if Ramírez grabs the top organizational spot when mid-season rankings drop.

Ball Four

If you feel the urge to label Tom Ricketts as cheap, remember he’s no Marge Schott.

Central Intelligence

  • Chicago (16-9): The Cubs are hoping that PCA will find his power stroke on this road trip. The center fielder was hitting .211 with no home runs and a .549 OPS going into a series against the Dodgers last year before finding his power stroke with two home runs — including a game-winning three-run blast — in the finale. By the end of the month, he had six home runs and an .840 OPS to go along with 12 stolen bases.
  • Cincinnati (16-9): Brandon Phillips will sign a ceremonial one-day contract so that he may retire as a Red this weekend.
  • St. Louis (14-10): Taijuan Walker, who was recently cut by the Phillies, might be a decent change-of-scenery addition for the Cardinals. He’d be a deadline flip candidate if St. Louis can help Walker rebound from his awful start.
  • Pittsburgh (14-11): The Pirates have hit on Paul Skenes, Konnor Griffin, and Seth Hernandez, their last three first-round draft picks. Solid drafts are helping end a long dry spell of sub-.500 baseball in Pittsburgh.
  • Milwaukee (13-11): On Thursday, the Brewers and the Milwaukee Department of Public Works (DPW) announced a new partnership that will put a Brewers-funded hot box trailer to work on city streets, supporting pothole repair crews as they patch some of Milwaukee’s roughest roads. That will make the drive to AmFam Field much smoother to watch the Cubs beat the Brewers.

How About That!

The Yankees are playing at an elite level while the Red Sox are struggling mightily. New York beat Boston 4-2 yesterday to complete a four-game sweep.

Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor is expected to “miss significant time” with a calf strain.

There is not a single all-star among the players selected in the first round of the 2016 draft.

Skenes is on a mission to dominate the Brewers tonight.

Rookie Braves pitcher JR Ritchie shrugged off a first-pitch home run in his debut (in front of his parents) to earn an historic win.

Evan Carter lost an ABS challenge and responded by slashing an inside-the-park home run.

Three from the Bill Chuck Files

  1. Mike Trout has played 1,366 games and started 1,354 as an Angels center fielder. By doing so, he has now tied Jim Fregosi for the most games played by an Angel at one position. Fregosi was an Angels shortstop for 11 seasons until he was traded to the Mets for Frank Estrada, Don Rose, Leroy Stanton, and…..Nolan Ryan.
  2. Since April 8, the Padres are the only team to have played errorless ball.
  3. The Rockies enter play today with a record of 10-16. They didn’t reach 10 wins in 2025 until June 20—their 60th game of the season.

Extra Innings

Translation: “Ever since turning pro, I’ve been hitting around .245 and thinking, ‘Oh, this is how it’s going to end.’ But then Kuroda-san came back to the Carp and said to me, ‘Why don’t you aim for this guy?’ The person he pointed out was Trout. I thought, ‘If I can become like this.’ I set him as my phone wallpaper. He stayed as my wallpaper the whole time.”

They Said It

  • “You just got to manage [your bullpen with] what’s in front of you. I think that’s what we’re trying to do. That means opportunity for some guys, and a lot of guys have done great with those opportunities. In the end, as we move forward, that’s going to be a positive and that’s going to be something that helps us as we get healthier. Hopefully, we have more options to go to and some guys that have gotten some really good experiences.” – Counsell
  • “It’s a Major League season. You like to script everything really clean and neat, and it’s just not going to happen that way. That’s OK. I think our guys have understood that and take what’s in front of us and take that challenge, and try to go capture it.” – Counsell

Friday Walk-Up Song

I don’t want to like this song, but I can’t help myself.

Photo of Michael Canter Michael CanterApril 24, 2026
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