Bregman, PCA Fulfill Sutcliffe’s Prophecies in Counsell’s 900th Win
I’m not the biggest fan of guest broadcasters, but I like the occasional fill-in work by Rick Sutcliffe. He’s like that uncle or grandpa who has a lot of practical knowledge and more than a little understanding of the modern game, but he’s going to be a total homer who is likely to mispronounce a few names. There’s also some mild danger lurking just below the surface that he might say something unintentionally problematic because he’s of a different age and can’t be expected to adhere to propriety at all times.
That actually sounds a lot like Harry Caray when you get down to it. But on last night’s broadcast, Sut seemed to be channeling Harry’s old partner. Anyone who watched Cubs baseball in the 80s and 90s can remember Steve Stone routinely calling out what was going to happen next just before it came to pass. It was like he had some sort of precognition for big plays.
When the Marquee cameras showed Alex Bregman prepping himself for his pinch-hit appearance in the top of the 7th, Sutcliffe expressed certainty that the third baseman was going to do something big. Sure enough, Bregman came in for Nicky Lopez with two outs and two men in scoring position and whacked the second pitch he saw into right field to drive home the runner from third for a 5-3 lead.
THE RISP KING STRIKES AGAIN ? pic.twitter.com/yuD38UIXlh
— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) April 29, 2026
Pete Crow-Armstrong was up next, and Sut had been talking with Boog Sciambi about how the young hitter looked locked in at the plate despite disappointing results. The Red Baron felt PCA was due and talked about how a homer would put the game out of reach. Sure enough, the twitchy center fielder ambushed a hanging changeup for a shot to center that improved the Cubs’ margin to a more comfortable level.
PETE CROW-ARMSTRONG. GONE. ?
CUBS LEAD 8-3!!! pic.twitter.com/sRCGSoKIdf
— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) April 29, 2026
“It was great, it was huge insurance,” Bregman said of the huge homer. “Obviously not off to the kind of start that he wanted to get off to, but that’s kinda the fun part about baseball is grinding through the failures of it. It’s a game of failure, you’re gonna fail over and over again, and you gotta show up every day and prepare and get after it.
“He works his tail off every day, it’s definitely not for a lack of effort. But you just gotta keep going in this game and you gotta keep battling every single day until you get it rolling. That was a big swing for us tonight; he always finds a way to help us win a ballgame.”
Though the veteran appeared stoic — perhaps because the toe that was hit by a pitch on Sunday was still barking — while delivering those lines to reporters in the clubhouse, he dropped the façade when the cameras panned to the subject of his praise.
“There’s beauty in the struggle, ugliness in the success,” Crow-Armstrong said through laughter. “Breggy wanted me to drop a J. Cole line.”
When combined with two-run knocks by both Dansby Swanson and Nico Hoerner, the Cubs built a snowman in SoCal to give Craig Counsell his 900th managerial victory. Barring some wildly unforeseen circumstances, and maybe a very foreseen one in terms of the potential work stoppage next year, Counsell should surpass 1,000 in the first half of 2027. Not that he’s concerned with his own accolades at this point. In fact, he was so dismissive of the milestone that he celebrated it with a shot of Malört.
Sounds to me like someone who might never want to win another game.
But seriously, this was a great win and it was more indicative of the kind of baseball the Cubs had been playing prior to those last two games in LA. I don’t include Monday in San Diego because they actually scored seven runs, two of which came against the untouchable Mason Miller. The real beauty of this roster is that it feels like almost anyone in the lineup is capable of carrying the team for at least short stretches.
PCA rediscovering his power stroke makes him the kind of player who could put the Cubs on his back for weeks at a time, and it sure would be nice to see that start now. After a day off, the Cubs play 10 games in as many days against the Diamondbacks (15-13), Reds (19-10), and Rangers (14-16). Then they have nine in nine against the Braves (21-9), White Sox (13-17), and Brewers (15-13). The best remedy for a makeshift bullpen is to score a whole bunch of runs, and that’s something this team can certainly do.
For now, though, they just need to focus on getting Counsell to 901.
