Tauchman's bat help Wicks earn first win of 2024 |
CHICAGO - While there is no such thing as an easy opponent when it comes to Major League Baseball, there are some teams that you need to kick when they are down. That is what the Chicago Cubs (14-9) are going through right now as they opened up a three-game series at Wrigley Field against the Houston Astros (7-17).
When you look at their record, you immediately notice how much this team has struggled, as they haven't been this many games under .500 at any point in a season in more than five years. However, this team is vastly better than their record shows, and all it takes is for them to grab a huge win over the Cubs as a potential season-changing moment. The Cubs found out firsthand how good and explosive these Astros can be as they were swept out of Minute Maid Park despite holding the lead in all those games. Not about to let that happen this time, the Cubs got going in a hurry as a five-run first was more than enough in their 7-2 victory. It may have taken longer than he would've liked, but left-hander Jordan Wicks picked up his first win of the season in what may be one of the best overall outings of his brief career. Wicks has had trouble getting through five innings this season, so to see him go six, allowing two and striking out four, Wicks gave the Cubs the performance they have been waiting for from him, and that couldn't have come at a better time. Opposing Wicks was JP France, who continues to struggle this season. France only allowed five hits in five innings, but two of those hits were homers, as he was charged with five runs in five innings. Both of those homers he allowed came in the first inning, as the Cubs jumped on him early and often. The first one came immediately following an Ian Happ double, as the suddenly hot Cody Bellinger was starting to make much better contact. His fifth homer put the Cubs in front for good, 2-0. Who wants to see some home run replays? Bellinger would later come out of the game with a rib contusion after hitting the wall, as his injuries continued to pile up. Here's @Taylor_McGregor's report on Cody Bellinger's potential injury after he smacked ivy in the 4th. He has been removed from the ballgame.@Cubs #GoCubsGo #Bellinjury pic.twitter.com/gBKfsmAu1N Already with two runs across, the Cubs kept the pressure on with Christopher Morel working a walk ahead of the Dansby Swanson single. That set the stage for Mike Tauchmann, who connected for his first of two homers in the game and gave the Cubs a 5-0 lead in the blink of an eye. The Cubs offense couldn't do much more after that, but they didn't need to as Wicks was on top of his game right from the start. The Cubs continued to keep the pressure on France the next two innings as his command saw him walk three more hitters the next two innings, but came away with no damage. Then came the top of the fourth when the Astros finally broke through on Wicks as a pair of doubles from Kyle Tucker and Yainer Diaz put the Astros on the board as they now trailed 5-1. Houston inched a little bit closer in the fifth with Jake Meyers taking Wicks deeps as the Cubs were now in front 5-2. Fortunately for the Cubs, they wouldn't allow a run the rest of the way as Wicks retired the final four hitters he faced before giving way to the bullpen. With France also out of the game, the Cubs offense found a way to get back on the board as a pair of walks to Swanson and Miguel Amaya were sandwiched between a catcher interference as the Cubs had the bases loaded and one out. Nico Hoerner tried to make the most of that situation, but with an RBI forceout, only one run managed to score as the Cubs extended their lead to 6-2. The Cubs would tack on one more run on the eighth-inning homer from Tauchman, as that was his second career multi-homer game. Mike Tauchman goes deep AGAIN! pic.twitter.com/0k1FOdi1IA #Cubs Mike Tauchman hits his second homer of the night and season. pic.twitter.com/YTKKQjB8F4 Chicago's bullpen took care of the rest as Ben Brown, Mark Leiter Jr, and Yency Almonte took away any hopes of an Astros comeback. While the win is good, there is also some concern for Bellinger about what was already a busy day on the transaction wire. In case you missed it, Drew Smyly and Kyle Hendricks have been placed on the IL and replaced by Luke Little and Hayden Wesneski. You also had Matt Mervis get back to the MLB roster as he replaces Garrett Cooper, who was DFA'd. Mike Tauchman hits 2 opposite field homers and shouts out Floyd’s barbers 🤝 #Cubs pic.twitter.com/W6mVLXbOt6 "It's dull. It's a very dull pain, even now."
Look between Y and I on your keyboard. pic.twitter.com/igPufiVZk9
Cody Bellinger on his right rib contusion. pic.twitter.com/gD6z4NMUUx
