The Rundown: Offense Awakes as Cubs Avoid Sweep, Suzuki Confident Bats Coming Around, White Sox Making Moves
“What seems to be is always better than nothing.” — What a Fool Believes by The Doobie Brothers.
If Jed Hoyer found an Aladdin’s lamp you can bet your ass he’d have three wishes ready to go:
- His offense rediscovering its long-missing mojo.
- An injury-free quality start from anybody in his rotation not named Ben Brown.
- A blowout win against a team the Cubs are supposed to beat.
He got all three in yesterday’s 9-3 win over the Rockies. Alex Bregman and Seiya Suzuki launched home runs — Suzuki’s with the bases loaded — and Edward Cabrera had his best start since beating Cleveland 1-0 on April 5.
Hoyer, who builds his team like he’s authoring the Tao of Baseball (perfect balance, perfect harmony), has to be relieved. Craig Counsell was so giddy he was ejected for disputing a double play. Counsell was correct, and it was great to see the fire, but it could have come at a more opportune time. Like, say, when his team was in the midst of its 10-game losing streak.
But I come not to nitpick, I promise. We don’t get to write about wins very often here at Cubs Insider, so let me count my blessings.
Cabrera finally looked like the guy Hoyer expected when he acquired him from the Marlins for Owen Caissie. The wiry righty allowed just two solo home runs, adding to Chicago’s league-leading total of 102. Still, that’s a big step up from his last outing, when he was tagged for eight runs and three taters against the Giants. The slump-busting home runs by Bregman and Suzuki are the bigger stories, however.
Counsell mentioned before yesterday’s game that the offense needed a group effort to wake its slumbering bats.
“One of the things we’re missing offensively, we’re missing slug as a group,” Counsell said. “There’s been a big focus on runners in scoring position, but we’re missing slug.”
Suzuki’s blast flipped a 1-0 deficit into a 4-1 lead and won the game for all intents and purposes. Bregman is quietly creeping toward league-average offense (98 OPS+) and went 3-for-9 with a couple of extra base hits and three RBI in the series. Carson Kelly also homered for Chicago. I’d love to see yesterday’s offensive outburst light a fire beneath the seat of one Dansby Swanson. He was the only Cubs starter not to get a hit yesterday.
It would be foolish to believe yesterday’s win rid Chicago of the monkey that’s been riding its backside for over a month. We were burned after last week’s comeback win against the A’s, don’t forget. Still, the next winning streak has to start sometime, and with three weekend games against the Giants in San Francisco, there is no time like the present.
Cubs News & Notes
- Our own Sean Holland has the recap of yesterday’s sweep-avoiding win against the Rockies.
- Brown has a legitimate shot to represent the Cubs at this year’s All-Star Game. Brown is not currently among the qualified pitchers in the Majors in terms of innings, but he has a 1.74 ERA through 57 frames overall. Among pitchers with at least 50 innings this season to date, Brown entered Friday ranked fourth overall behind Shohei Ohtani (1.06), Jacob Misiorowski (1.50), and Cristopher Sánchez (1.54).
- Pitching coach Tommy Hottovy took advantage of Cabrera’s recent time on the IL ($) to work on some of the righty’s mechanical issues.
- Counsell earned his ejection because he felt his team was robbed of two outs, and he was shocked the call wasn’t reversed.
- Suzuki’s slam might be just what is needed to rustle Chicago’s offense from its current dormant state.
- The Cubs and Mariners could be a perfect fit in a trade that sends Suzuki to Seattle for Luis Castillo. The Phillies, Padres, and Reds are also interested in Suzuki.
- The right fielder is confident that the Cubs are going to turn things around quickly.
- Josiah Hartshorn keeps hitting home runs. The outfield prospect has six in 15 games since his promotion to South Bend.
- MLB Pipeline dropped its latest mock draft, with Chicago projected to pick RHP Cade Townsend of Mississippi.
Ball Four
Good morning, starshine. The Earth says hello.
Employees dressed the part when the Astrodome first opened pic.twitter.com/BikISyCdnR
— BaseballHistoryNut (@nut_history) June 12, 2026
Central Intelligence
- Milwaukee (41-25): Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com says Misiorowski is baseball’s hardest thrower of all-time. The Miz throws harder than Walter Johnson, Bob Feller, Nolan Ryan, Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson, and, respectfully, all the other awesome starting arms of baseball past.
- St. Louis (37-29): Add the Cardinals to the list of teams that may pursue a trade for Tarik Skubal. I’d rank them third, right behind the Dodgers and Brewers. The Cardinals are for real, as much as I hate to admit that.
- Pittsburgh (35-34): The recently released Tyler Fitzgerald could provide a spark to a Pirates team that is dealing with several key injuries.
- Chicago (35-34): Anthony Rizzo apparently owes Cardinals manager Oli Marmol a new house over a bet the pair made a few years back.
- Cincinnati (32-35): The Reds looked like deadline buyers a month ago, but the team is squarely on the fence right now.
How About That!
MLB intends to question the Dodgers team doctor Neal ElAttrache over alleged involvement in PED use with UFC fighter Conor McGregor. The league is conducting due diligence to ensure no wrongdoing.
The White Sox have defied all odds to take the lead in the AL Central.
The Guardians traded outfielder Nolan Jones and cash considerations to the South Siders for a $250,000 international bonus pool allotment.
Chicago also traded veteran outfielder Derek Hill and an additional bonus pool allotment to the Phillies for minor league outfielder Dylan Campbell and minor league infielder José Colmenares
The Yankees are looking for a catcher and Ryan Jeffers is emerging as the team’s top target.
The Red Sox are the team to watch at this year’s deadline. Aroldis Chapman is reportedly available, and Sonny Gray is likely to be moved, too. Willson Contreras and Jarren Duran are also available, according to several sources.
Baseball in Las Vegas may be akin to playing games on the moon.
Apropos of Nothing
Who remembers holding backyard “carnivals” to help raise money for the annual Jerry Lewis Muscular Dystrophy Telethon? Am I really that old?
Extra Innings
Last week, Dusty Baker said Cubs fans shouldn’t worry about Bregman, a notoriously slow starter. In Dusty we trusty.
Alex Bregman launches a 2-run homer to the seats! pic.twitter.com/A7ZCDpFgxl
— MLB (@MLB) June 11, 2026
They Said It
- “Hopefully this leads to bigger things and we can get things going.” – Suzuki
- “I think we have maybe three guys playing to their potential. So, we’ve got a lot of work to do and we’ve got to be better. We’re way better of a ballclub than we’ve shown. We’ve got to look in the mirror and figure out a way to get it done on the field. That’s my impression. We’ve got to play better. Today was a good step in the right direction.” – Bregman
- “I think Seiya needs that swing. I think Alex needs that swing. So, those are good signs.” – Counsell
Friday Walk-Up Song
No winning streak starts without its first victory. That’s the Tao of The Rundown.
