3 takeaways from the Chicago Cubs' series loss against the Houston Astros as they lose ground in the division

Chicago Tribune

a day ago

HOUSTON — The Chicago Cubs' hold on first place in the division is becoming tenuous.
They dropped their series against the Houston Astros with a 2-0 loss Sunday at Daikin Park and have lost four of their last 10 games. The Cubs (49-35) completed their challenging stretch of 26 games in 27 days, including one postponement due to rain, with a 12-13 record. But the Milwaukee Brewers and St. Louis Cardinals have been playing well and now sit 2 games and 2 1/2 back of the Cubs, respectively, in the National League Central.
The Cubs had an opportunity to erase the Astros' two-run lead from Jose Altuve's home run in the fifth inning, but they failed to capitalize after putting a pair of runners on to open the top of the seventh to force lefty Framber Valdez out of the game. Pinch hitters Michael Busch (foul out) and Vidal Bruján (strikeout) and Ian Happ (strikeout) couldn't take advantage against Astros righty reliever Bryan Abreu.
'Their bullpen, those two guys Abreu and (Josh) Hader, they're two of the best, and Valdez got deep enough in the game where they could go right to them,' manager Craig Counsell said. 'Abreu did a great job, and (Busch) that's the one you pitch you want back. He took a good swing at the right pitch, and he just missed it.'
As the Cubs look ahead to a six-game homestand versus the Cleveland Guardians and Cardinals following Monday's off day, here are three takeaways from their weekend series in Houston.
Jameson Taillon's consistency had been a huge part of the Cubs' early-season success, until he gave up his most runs in back-to-back starts the last two times out since his second season in the majors.
Taillon looked to get locked in Sunday against Houston. Leading up to the start, the veteran studied his pitch usage and sequencing to evaluate what adjustments he needed to make. Part of that puzzle to regain his form required improved execution. The Astros certainly made Taillon work Sunday, especially former Cubs third baseman Isaac Paredes, who forced the starter to throw 31 pitches, including 17 foul balls.
Taillon, though, had kept the Astros off the board until Altuve's home run on his 107th pitch to end his day.
'I knew it was gone,' Taillon said. 'I grew up coming to games here. I've seen so many balls go into the Crawford Boxes. It's one of those things, like, yeah, it's a short left field, but it also isn't a very good pitch. So that's what he does. He's probably a future Hall of Famer. I thought it was gone off the bat.'
Taillon's improvement from his previous two outings stemmed from better pitch usage, most notably throwing more cutters — up from his 12% average this season to 29% Sunday.
'Part of that was predetermined and part of it, I just thought the cutter was better today,' Taillon said. 'I haven't had great feel of that lately, and I also haven't seen seven righties in a lineup, probably all year, in a while.
'It's hard to be too happy when you don't complete even five innings, but I actually thought that was some of the best stuff and command I've had all year. … Obviously got beat by the homer again today, which I'm getting pretty tired of, but it was a pretty good hitter that hit it.'
Nico Hoerner knows his lack of home run power has been a conversation topic.
He was one of only two qualified hitters without a home run this season. But suddenly, Hoerner has tapped into the long ball. Hoerner's go-ahead home run in Saturday's win against Houston gave him three in his last five games.
'Obviously the question has always been how to add more power to my game and this and that, and it's hard to put a finger on one thing,' Hoerner said. 'But just good contact, simple swings.'
Chicago Cubs' Kyle Tucker still a fan favorite in his first return to Houston since leaving the AstrosDespite his limited home runs through the first three months of the season, Hoerner entered Sunday's series finale with a career-best 109 OPS+ and his .386 slugging percentage is the second-best over his career.
After Saturday's game, when asked whether it crosses his mind when he hasn't hit a home run in a while, Hoerner laughed before noting, 'Yeah, I do.' Hoerner had gone 321 plate appearances between home runs, dating to last season.
'I'm obviously aware of how I'm producing and I'm aware of the things that I do well, and I don't want to lose sight of those things that I've always done well,' Hoerner said. 'But I want to be a really impactful player in this league and help us win games.
'It's hard to be a really good player in this league without hitting for power. So, you can't force it, but there's daily work that gives me a better chance to do it, and I feel like I'm getting better.'
Chris Flexen hasn't pitched out of the bullpen much during his eight-year big-league career.
His 15 relief appearances are already his most in a single season. But despite not possessing a ton of experience in that role, Flexen understands the value of making sure his fellow relievers are as fresh as possible. After the seventh inning in Friday's loss, Flexen told Counsell he had one more inning in him, wanting to ensure the bullpen was good for Saturday.
Flexen finished with four shutout innings Friday to lower his season ERA to 0.64 through 15 outings (28 innings).
'He gets it, you know what I mean?' Counsell said. 'In your bullpen, the guys are connected to each other. And so Chris made somebody else more effective (Saturday) and (Sunday). And I think that's a big deal. There's no statistic for that, there's no metric, there's no analytics for that.'
Counsell described Flexen as a glue guy, highlighting how valuable the 30-year-old right-hander has been in his relief role this year. His effectiveness on the mound has stemmed from his curveball shape and speed he throws it, combined with his cutter and high fastball, makes Flexen tough to hit. He's surrendered only 16 hits in 28 innings.
'Stuff wise, he's just got really good feel for all of his pitches right now,' Counsell said. 'That's what you see in his outings, just confidence: any count, any time, any one of his pitches.'
With how well Flexen has been performing and built up to four innings and 50 pitches, he's an appealing choice to start if the Cubs go the bullpen game route sometime at some point. Counsell acknowledged that possibility.
'The fact that we have him stretched, gotten him some longer appearances, he may give us some flexibility,' Counsell said Saturday. 'If he had some rest going in, we could get him to the 60-65 pitch level.'