Cubs find their power stroke and stay hot even as injuries pile up

AL EastBlue JaysOriolesRaysRed SoxYankeesAL CentralGuardiansRoyalsTigersTwinsWhite SoxAL WestAngelsAstrosAthleticsMarinersRangersNL EastBravesMarlinsMetsNationalsPhilliesNL CentralBrewersCardinalsCubsPiratesRedsNL WestDiamondbacksDodgersGiantsPadresRockiesScores & ScheduleStandingsPodcastsThe Windup NewsletterFantasyMLB ProspectsMLB OddsMLB PicksPower RankingsFans Speak UpTop ProspectsMLB Season Michael Busch, right, celebrates with Seiya Suzuki and Carson Kelly after hitting a three-run home run. Michael Reaves / Getty Images Share articleCHICAGO — Former Cubs manager Joe Maddon liked to say that they can’t all be oil paintings. The Cubs’ ninth win in a row wasn’t always pretty, but in the end, it was what they wanted: A win. Maddon was in charge the last time the Cubs had a winning streak this long, when his 2016 team won 11 games in a row from July 31 to Aug 12. Craig Counsell’s team isn’t built too dissimilarly with strong starting pitching, great defense and an offense that can get red hot. Thursday’s 8-7 win over the Philadelphia Phillies in extra innings looked like it was going to be an easy victory for the Cubs, but a battered bullpen — more on that soon — couldn’t hold a four-run lead. However, an offense that has been great all season and is only now finding its power stroke made sure the fans went home happy. “It was another day where we did an outstanding job of just pressure against one of the better pitchers in baseball,” Counsell said. “I thought we did just a heckuva job against him.” That pitcher was Cristopher Sánchez, who finished second in Cy Young voting last season and entered the day with a 1.59 ERA. The Cubs beat up Sánchez for six runs on 12 hits, including two home runs in 5 1/3 innings. They ended the day with a season-high 18 hits and continue to look like one of the best offenses in baseball, doing it against a great pitcher to extend their winning ways. I KNOW YOU CAN'T SEE US BUT WE'RE CELEBRATING TOO pic.twitter.com/g6zTh5A2tO — Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) April 23, 2026 The Cubs are third in baseball with 139 runs scored and tied for second with a 122 wRC+. They’re third in batting average, second in on-base percentage and have the 23rd lowest strikeout rate in the game — all great signs. The one area where they hadn’t been among the best in baseball was the power department. That’s slowly starting to change. With three doubles and three home runs Thursday, their ISO is up to .154 on the season, ninth in baseball. “You gotta hit home runs in this game to be a good offensive team, for sure,” Counsell said. “I think we’ve been a well-rounded offensive group so far. You gotta be yourself as well. You gotta do things that are consistent with what makes you successful. The home runs a lot of time, the pitcher gives you the opportunity for them. So we just gotta continue to be ourselves as hitters.” The power outage had largely happened because Michael Busch, Pete Crow-Armstrong and Seiya Suzuki have been struggling at the plate. However, each looks like he’s turning a corner. Suzuki and Busch homered Thursday, Busch’s a big three-run shot off Sánchez. Suzuki had three home runs, and Busch had two in the series, the first of the season for each batter. “What are we, 20 games in?” Ian Happ said. “That’s part of getting into a season. Those guys are going to have great years and are a huge part of our offense. Really good teams pick each other up in those moments. We’ve done a really good job of that.” Happ’s power has shown up early this year. He slugged his seventh long ball of the season, a mammoth shot that ended up on Waveland Avenue. His .272 ISO would be his highest in a full season, and he’s sporting a 146 wRC+. Players like Happ, Nico Hoerner, Moisés Ballesteros (two doubles Thursday after coming in late as a pinch hitter) and Carson Kelly are making up for early struggles from others. It’s allowed the Cubs to thrive even as the injuries pile up, and the expected sluggers try to find their rhythm. “That’s just kind of what this org is about,” Dansby Swanson, whose bases-loaded single in the tenth secured the victory, said. “There’s the cliche of next man up, but we have a lot of capable people. At the end of the day, life throws you lemons, you make lemonade kind of deal.” EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH. pic.twitter.com/ZAqp3FBBiy — Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) April 23, 2026 The Cubs did add another injury to Counsell’s list of concerns. Trying to hold a 7-6 lead in the ninth, lefty Caleb Thielbar allowed a solo shot to Adolis García, then on his third pitch to Trea Turner, exited the game with what Counsell described as left hamstring “tightness.” Counsell didn’t have details on how much time he would miss. The injury is the latest in a string of issues for the pitching staff. Starter Cade Horton is already down for the year with elbow surgery, and Opening Day starter Matthew Boyd has only just returned after three weeks on the shelf. The bullpen is in tatters, though. Daniel Palencia, Phil Maton, Hunter Harvey and Ethan Roberts are all on the IL with various ailments. “You just gotta manage what’s in front of ya,” Counsell said of how he’s handling all the chaos. “I think that’s what we’re trying to do. That means opportunity for some guys, and a lot of guys have done great with those opportunities. As we move forward, that’s going to be a positive, and that’s going to be something that as we get healthier, we have more options to go to.” Maton is expected to pitch with the Iowa Cubs on Friday and could return to the big-league club’s bullpen as early as this weekend in Los Angeles. Harvey is going to start his throwing program again Friday, and the Cubs are optimistic that Palencia’s stint on the injured list will be minimal. The organization also expects Trent Thornton to get in minor-league games this weekend. The veteran righty tore his Achilles tendon last season and has been slowly working his way back. Adding more depth options would be incredibly important for a team that could really use more trusted relievers. As Counsell said, others have stepped up at times. Ben Brown has finally gotten results that match his stuff. Riley Martin, a virtual unknown not long ago, has quickly earned Counsell’s trust. As the team gets healthier, it could be a deeper, more well-rounded group because of what could be looked at as difficult moments. The Cubs, though, have almost made it look easy. It hasn’t gone as expected, but they keep winning and enter a big road trip winners of nine straight — including a 7-0 homestand — with the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres waiting for them on the West Coast. “It’s a major-league season,” Counsell said. “You’d like to script everything really clean and neat. It’s just not going to happen that way. That’s OK.” Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms