AP Photo/Nick Wass

The Rundown: Cubs Battle Cardinals to Start Huge Homestand, Miller Throwing Gas in Rehab, Schwarber Bombs Twins in Iowa Cornfields

Photo of Michael Canter Michael CanterAugust 14, 2026

“Sure, he’s a jolly roger, until he answers for his crimes. Yet I’ll match him whim for whim, for now.” – My Rival by Steely Dan

Fridays are always tough Rundown days for me when the Cubs play at home because I work until 3am on Thursday nights. I’m gonna burn through this one pretty quickly and then I have to go to the dentist, and I am immune to Novocain. Fun stuff.

The Cubs lost to the Nationals yesterday, so I suppose a series sweep just wasn’t in the cards. Cade Cavalli was masterful, but let’s face it: Yesterday’s game had all the earmarks of a trap contest. It was getaway day, and the Cubs are coming home to play the Cardinals and White Sox. Chicago’s North Side Baseballers legitimately looked like they were on the team plane, figuratively speaking, before Cavalli threw his first pitch. It would be an exaggeration to say the Cubs phoned it in. They pinched a loaf, in a metaphorical sense, of course, and lost a game in the standings to the Brewers.

Milwaukee won because the Dodgers have a huge closer problem. Edwin Díaz can’t get anybody out, and his 11.57 ERA seems almost generous. He pitches far worse than that, at least he did last night, when I could have hit him. I don’t know if he’s tipping his pitches, but he was incredibly wild while also pitching strikes specifically to Milwaukee’s heat zones. Díaz allowed three runs on four hits in about five minutes and the Brewers stole one from Los Angeles.

Speaking of closers, Daniel Palencia is struggling in his ongoing rehab assignment. Manager Craig Counsell told reporters before last night’s game that Palencia has not been sharp at Double-A Knoxville. That’s probably why Edward Cabrera will be moving to the bullpen when he returns from the IL, likely today (oops, see below). Counsell understands that he has no true closer, though Cabrera, Palencia and Ryan Zeferjahn would give him some serious firepower at the back end of his bullpen. Jacob Webb is doing a fine job as Chicago’s defacto closer, so one can assume Counsell is hesitant to change that in the heat of a pennant race.

And…let me walk that back a little. It was just reported (as I am writing) that Cabrera will come off the IL and start against the Cardinals on Sunday. That simply tells me that Counsell has a lot of faith in Zeferjahn and Webb. Regardless, Cabrera is still expected to pitch in relief once the playoffs start. He’s been a disappointment as a starter so I personally liked the idea of shorter, max-effort outings. That said, the Cubs need Cabrera to be a mainstay in next year’s rotation, so it makes sense to keep running him out there in that role.

Counsell deserves credit for giving his bullpen some rest in Washington. Aaron Civale relieved Kevin Gausman in yesterday’s 7-0 loss, while Javier Assad worked four innings in relief of David Peterson on Wednesday. That’s a nice two-day break for the rest of the bullpen, a rarity during a pennant chase. Clay Holmes will battle Matthew Liberatore today, so let’s hope Chicago’s offense breaks out and the team’s relievers can continue their extended break.

Finally, the Cubs-Cardinals rivalry no longer seems like a thing to me. I know today’s Cardinals pale in comparison to the great teams of decades past, but that’s not why. The Brewers are Chicago’s only rival these days. A Cubs-Cardinals affair means no more to me than a game against the Pirates. I’ll play along for old times sake, but it feels a bit forced.

Cubs News & Notes

  • The Cubs enter their series with the Cardinals with a 99% chance of making the playoffs.
  • There are 40 games left in the season, and Chicago is in striking distance of the Brewers with a legitimate shot of winning 95 or more games. Just give Counsell the Manager of the Year award. He’s earned it.
  • Keep an eye on Shelby Miller. Miller started a rehab assignment Sunday and has appeared in two games. He allowed one run on two hits with two strikeouts in his first outing and then, on Wednesday at Double-A Knoxville, struck out all three batters he faced. He’s throwing some serious gas, too.
  • MLB Pipeline dropped its midseason prospect rankings, and Chicago is led by Josiah Hartshorn and Owen Ayers. No surprise there.
  • Hartshorn is No. 39 on the MiLB Top 100 List, followed by Ayers at No. 93, though no other Cub prospects made the list. Fear not…Chicago has a deep system with several talented players that should enter the conversation as soon as next year.
  • ESPN updated its list of top 50 MLB players, and Pete Crow-Armstrong is second, right behind Shohei Ohtani.
  • The Cubs are in a hotly-contested race with the Dodgers, Braves, and Brewers for baseball’s best record. Ten critical games will take place from August 13-27, when the Dodgers host the Brewers for four games, the Brewers host the Braves for three and then the Braves host the Dodgers for three. The Cubs host Milwaukee for four games starting August 31. That’s going to be one helluva two-week party for baseball fans everywhere. I expect the Cubs to come out of that scrum leading the NL in winning percentage.

Ball Four

Speaking of trying to force a rivalry… John Rooney is the very definition of a try-hard.

Central Intelligence

  • Milwaukee (75-47): No team on pace to win 100+ games for the first time in franchise history has ever felt so simultaneously average. There is a very valid reason. The Brewers have a very pronounced split in batting performance between what is classified as “bad” and “good” starters in recent seasons.
  • Chicago (71-51): One year after a similarly epic season went sideways with a grim and demoralizing August slump, Crow-Armstrong is hitting the accelerator even harder in a second half that has him firmly positioned to post the most valuable year, at least mathematically, across the major leagues.
  • St. Louis (61-60): The Cardinals have not given up on the playoffs, though they’ll need to be nearly perfect against their NL Central opponents to get there.
  • Cincinnati (58-62): Starter Chase Burns has eclipsed his previous mark for innings pitched in one season, but the Reds aren’t going to limit him going forward.
  • Pittsburgh (59-64): Braxton Ashcraft threw an 85-pitch complete game with 10 strikeouts against the Marlins Thursday. His “Maddux” was the first nine-inning complete game by a Pirate since Mitch Keller threw one May 6, 2024 against the Angels, and the first on the road since Johan Oviedo on Aug. 28, 2023 against the Royals.

How About That!

MLB announced that San Francisco will host the 2028 All-Star Game. Wrigley Field will host the event next season provided a new CBA is in place.

With another work stoppage looming, the owners and players must not forget the lessons learned from 1994.

Kyle Schwarber blasted the Twins with two bombs in Thursday’s Field of Dreams game. Please share your Netflix password so I can watch it on replay.

The Dodgers built their roster in many ways that a finely-tuned Fortune 500 corporation builds its organization. They are definitely different than their 29 counterparts.

The Tigers blanked the Guardians on Thursday without inducing a single strikeout. Who needs Tarik Skubal, am I right?

Extra Innings

Time to pick up right where the last homestand ended. The Cubs have a four-game winning streak at Wrigley Field on the line today. By the way, they’ve also won nine straight road series. This team is clicking.

They Said It

  • “We just ran into a really good pitcher. He’s having a great year. He kind of handed it to us today. You’ve kind of got to give those guys credit when credit’s due. I thought he pitched a heck of a game. And I just wasn’t good enough to get through six.” – Gausman
  • “[Webb’s] been a good pitcher in this league, and he found some things that have helped him add a little bit to keep the hitter guessing. That’s what’s so great about pitching. You don’t have to stop, like, ‘This is who I am and I can’t change and I can’t improve.’ Pitchers have, really, that big ability to add something, to do something a little better, find a new grip, find a new way to use their stuff to mix it together.” – Counsell
  • “Shelby’s rehab and return to play at this point has gone as well as it possibly could, and he’s done a heck of a job, and the staff in Arizona has done a heck of a job. So we’ve got to a place that we probably didn’t anticipate getting to in March when we signed him. Having said that, we’ve got steps to go here still, so I wouldn’t consider this, like, yeah Miller’s back. This is coming back from a serious injury. His rehab’s going to be a little longer, and we have to be a little safer with his rehab as well.” – Counsell

Friday Walk-Up Song

The Brewers are still struggling despite last night’s win. The Cubs have an excellent shot at applying enough pressure to catch and pass them. Keep that energy positive.

 

Photo of Michael Canter Michael CanterAugust 14, 2026
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