After six scoreless innings against the Cardinals on Tuesday, Brewers left-hander Kyle Harrison has his ERA down to 1.57. He’s one out short of qualifying for the crown, but that mark would lead the NL. Harrison hasn’t allowed more than two earned runs in any of his 10 starts. The lefty has put together three straight scoreless outings.
1. Cubs lose 10th straight
The Pirates scored five runs in the first inning against the Cubs on Tuesday and never looked back. Pittsburgh cruised to a 12-1 win, handing Chicago its 10th consecutive loss. The Cubs alternated wins and losses in the first eight games of the season. Since then, they have alternated results just twice. The up-and-down performance has included two separate 10-game winning streaks and now a 10-game stretch of losses. Wednesday’s defeat dropped Chicago to a tie for fourth place in the NL Central with Pittsburgh. The series is only halfway over, so the Pirates have two more shots to gain ground on the Cubs.
2. Sanchez’s scoreless streak on the line
Phillies left-hander Cristopher Sanchez shut out the Guardians for eight frames in his last outing, pushing his scoreless innings streak to 37 2/3. He’s gone nearly a month without giving up a run. The impressive stretch ranks second in franchise history. Sanchez needs four more zeroes to pass Grover Alexander for the Phillies’ record. He’ll match up against a vulnerable San Diego offense tonight. The Padres have the second-lowest OPS against lefties this season. No club has scored fewer runs when facing southpaws.
3. Sandlin gets the ball
White Sox right-hander David Sandlin is expected to draw the start on Wednesday against the Twins. The prospect was stellar in the minors this year, allowing just one earned run over 16 1/3 innings split between High-A and Triple-A. Sandlin posted a massive 35.1% strikeout rate over six starts. The righty joined the organization in a February trade from the Red Sox. The deal was mostly an opportunity for Boston to offload Jordan Hicks‘ contract, but it netted Chicago an intriguing arm. Sandlin draws a Minnesota offense that has performed well lately. The Twins rank ninth in OPS and 10th in wRC+ against right-handed pitching in May. Sandlin will be opposed by fellow prospect Connor Prielipp.
Photo courtesy of Charles LeClaire, Imagn Images
Gotta love how the Raffy trade forced the Red Sox to part with a top prospect like Sandlin.
Snowball effect.
S/o Liberty Media Corporation. I moved to Georgia in March of 2023. I have seen one (1) Regular Season Braves game in that time (I went to Truist). In that same time frame, the Phillies were on TV and fun to watch, so they get my secondary fandom while the Red Sux front office continues to do a worse job than anyone reading this is capable of doing. In another lifetime, the Mets play better baseball than the Phillies have since 2023 and I’m AccidentalMetsFan. Braves ownership screwed the pooch on their fandom more than Freddie Freeman’s contract negotiation. Yikes.
What a strange fan you are.
The Cubs are showing how far fielding can get you as a team. Elite defense. Streaky offense and a rotation that needed to be reinforced but was addressed with an arm who everyone knows is injury-prone. They’ve had some bad luck, sure, but I don’t think they did enough this offseason to really take a step forward this year. They made the playoffs last year and probably will this year but that’s about it. Then again, maybe their next streak will start when the playoffs hit and they’ll ride the wave to a championship.
I can’t ever remember a team as hot/cold as the cubbies. What team has ever had 2 separate 10 game winning streaks with another 10 game losing streak all before May even ends?
If it were only the two ten game win streaks and one 10 game losing streak, thats still 10 games over .500. Still the best team in the NL, light years ahead of any team in the AL, and your 2026 WS champs.