PITTSBURGH — For the first time in three months, the Chicago Cubs are back above .500 as they close in on the final four weeks of the regular season.
The Cubs’ winding, often frustrating journey to this point — a position they haven’t been in since May 28 — has been aided by a lineup finally providing reliable production. Their 9-5 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday at PNC Park sets up the Cubs to go for the sweep Wednesday.
With his two hits, Miguel Amaya tied the longest streak of consecutive games (five) started by a Cubs catcher with at least two hits since Tyler Houston in 1998. Seiya Suzuki’s 19th home run of the season — a two-run, opposite-field shot — tied the game in the fourth and kickstarted a five-run frame.
The Cubs (67-66) have featured one of the best offenses in baseball during August in which they’ve gone 15-8. Entering Tuesday, their 121 wRC+ was tied for fourth in the majors while also ranking in the top 10 in wOBA (fourth), average (seventh) and walk rate (ninth).
“We’ve played consistent enough baseball,” manager Craig Counsell said. “Four series in a row, winning series, and that’s consistency. So that’s what we’re doing a nice job of. And it’s production throughout the roster that’s important, and that’s how you get on stretches like this where everybody on the roster is playing at a higher level. That’s what’s happening.”
Even with Tuesday’s win, the Cubs remain a long shot to reach the postseason as FanGraphs’ projections give them a 2.9% chance of clinching a wild-card spot. Six of their final nine series are against teams with losing records.
“You don’t go in a year just looking to be above .500, but considering where we were at, at one point, it does matter,” second baseman Nico Hoerner said. “Hopefully it’s a sign of what’s to come the rest of the way.”
Left-hander Justin Steele did his part Tuesday, holding Pittsburgh to two runs in five innings. He experienced a nerve-wracking moment before the bottom of the third inning when umpires convened to look at his right arm. They told Steele he couldn’t have rosin on his non-throwing arm and he was instructed to wipe it off in the dugout. He subsequently got checked before every inning the rest of his outing.
Steele said he was definitely scared they might eject him because of the rosin.
“It was very humid out here, very sticky in itself,” Steele said. “I mean, I grab rosin all the time, and I just put it all over and it flies all over the place.
“I was not really doing anything wrong here, so I was scared to death. … I respect umpires for wanting to protect the integrity of the game.”
