New York Mets at Chicago Cubs

The Cubs spent the first couple weeks of this season searching for consistency within their offense. From manager Craig Counsell to the players, there was a repeated mantra that things were bound to turn around soon, given the list of notable names throughout Chicago’s lineup. Over the past several days, things have turned. On Friday afternoon, the North Siders had production up and down the order en route to a 12-4 victory over the Mets at Wrigley Field. Nico Hoerner kept his hot start going, Moisés Ballesteros launched a three-run home run and the Cubs eclipsed 10 runs for the third consecutive game. “That number of runs, it means there’s a lot of people doing good things,” Counsell said. “One of the strengths of our team should be just the length of our lineup, and just being able to get production everywhere in the lineup. “It hopefully keeps you pretty consistent, and then lets you have these big days.” Prior to Friday’s outpouring, the Cubs enjoyed a 10-4 win on Tuesday and an 11-2 romp on Wednesday against the Phillies. The North Siders scored 10 or more runs in three games in a row for the first time since September 2019, and have only hit double digits in four or more consecutive games twice. There was a four-game run between June-July 2018 and a five-game stretch in June 1930. The output also gave Chicago its fifth consecutive game with at least seven runs scored, marking the 13th time since 1900 that the ballclub has managed at least that many runs in five or more straight games. It is the first time the Cubs have done so since a five-game streak from July 22-27, 2023. Chicago has not had a six-game run of this kind since 1930. “It was just a matter of time,” said Cubs left fielder Ian Happ, who launched a two-run homer in the eighth inning. “This offense is really good top to bottom. It’s deep. A lot of good hitters. Good plans. We weren’t going to score no runs for the entire year.” Last Saturday, the Cubs dropped a 4-3 loss in 11 innings to the Pirates at Wrigley Field, going 1-for-15 with runners in scoring position that day. Through that point in the season, Chicago had scored 59 runs total in 14 games (4.2 per game on average) with a .209/.293/.284 slash line with runners on base. The Cubs’ 66 wRC+ with runners on ranked 27th in MLB at that point. After that loss to Pittsburgh, Counsell and third baseman Alex Bregman used the same two-word phrase: “It’ll turn.” And in the five games that have followed, the Cubs have scored 47 runs (9.4 per