The Cubs’ bats warmed up at the right time, powering them to two straight wins against the National League Central-leading Pirates.
At the end of the Cubs’ 10-6 win Wednesday, they sat 4 1/2 games back of the Pirates, their direction at the Aug. 1 trade deadline hanging in the balance because the division title was still in reach.
“It’s probably rare to be at a point where you would say that about a division in the middle of June, where I think anyone can still win it,” president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said before the game Wednesday, “but no one has pulled away, or even pulled away from .500.”
After the game, even the Pirates (34-32) were only two games above .500. The Cubs (30-37) were seven games below.
“Given where we are in relation to .500, I think in a normal season we would be looking at a much steeper climb than we are right now,” Hoyer said. “And obviously that’s a fortunate thing.”
So far, the Cubs haven’t taken advantage of the surprisingly short climb to the top of the NL Central. But they have time to change that.
Speculation is already swirling about the return the Cubs could get if they traded players like Cody Bellinger and Marcus Stroman, top performers who are likely headed to free agency at the end of the year.
Stroman is expected to opt out of his contract at the end of this season, and he’s been open about a stall in extension talks. On Wednesday, Hoyer addressed Stroman’s Tweet and comments about the situation, while abiding by his own policy against addressing ongoing negotiations.
“I love the fact that he wants to be here,” Hoyer said. “And we’ve had conversations about it, and I’m not going to disclose what we’ve talked about. But there’s dialogue, and we’ll keep that in house.”
Stroman described that dialogue as “talking in circles.”
Negotiating this deep into the season hasn’t been standard practice for this front office.
“In theory, any in-season negotiation’s is more difficult,” Hoyer said. “You’re getting different data every five days, I think it can become more challenging. But I wouldn’t discuss it with this in particular.”
Right now, the trade deadline looms as a key date for those talks, but if the team makes a real push for the division, that will no longer be the case.
The Cubs played Wednesday like a team determined to make the climb.
They fell behind early. Starter Drew Smyly, who hadn’t given up multiple home runs in a game all year, surrendered two in the first inning to give the Pirates a 3-0 lead.
From there, the Pirates accounted for most of the offense through the top of the sixth inning, including a third homer off Smyly.
In the bottom of the sixth, the Cubs punched back.
The Cubs brought 11 batters to the plate. Dansby Swanson and Christopher Morel led off the inning with back-to-back singles. Yan Goems and Nick Madrigal drew walks to load the bases and then drive in a run. Mike Tauchman hit a line drive into shallow center field to cut the Pirates’ lead to one run. Seiya Suzuki drew a four-pitch free pass to re-load the bases.
With two outs, Ian Happ dropped his bat head down to a low sinker, drilling it through the left side of the infield. Madrigal scored standing up. The throw from left field was steps behind a sliding Tauchman, who spun as he popped up on the other side of home plate, brandishing a first in celebration. The Cubs took their first lead of the night.
They’d tack on another run that inning and three more before the game was over. One step closer.