This Week in Cubs Baseball: After getting off to a strong start in the 2021 MLB season, things have not gone so well for the beloved Chicago Cubs. It was another disappointing week as the Cubs lost four of the six games to the Milwaukee Brewers and Atlanta Braves.
The Cubs began the week in Milwaukee, a place where they have had plenty of success in recent years. Cubs fans once again showed up to “Wrigley North” to cheer on the team, but there wasn’t much to root for in that series.
In fact, the Cubs were a few outs a way from being swept by the Brewers, but Willson Contreras bailed them out in the second game of the series. Chicago was outscored by Milwaukee, 15-6 in the three games, and the offense continued to struggle.
Atlanta came into Wrigley Field for a three-game weekend series, and the Braves have not been playing great baseball either. This could have given the Cubs a chance to get things straightened out, but it was a rough weekend at home.
Atlanta won the first game of the series by a score of 5-2, and then embarrassed the Cubs on Sunday Night Baseball, leaving town after a 13-4 beat down. The Cubs did win the game on Saturday by a score of 13-4, but that was really all to cheer about this week.
Despite winning just two games this past week, there were some positive signs and it could lead to some wins in the coming weeks. The offense took some big strides at the plate, and some of the biggest names started to play long ball.
Home Run Barrage
Willson Contreras was the offensive star of the week for the Cubs, and he hit four home runs over a three-game span. The game-winning blast against the Milwaukee Brewers came after he was drilled by pitches the entire series.
On Saturday, Contreras blasted a pair of solo home runs that seemed to get the team going offensively. Kris Bryant also blasted a pair of home runs on Saturday, and the Cubs took out some frustration on the Braves pitching staff.
Sunday night did not go well for the Cubs as a whole, but Anthony Rizzo hit two home runs for the home team in the loss. Getting Bryant, Baez, and Rizzo going could lead to some big things for this Cubs team moving forward.
Starting Pitching a Mess
The starting rotation was solid during the first week of the season, but that unit really let the team down this week. It all started to go South when Kyle Hendricks was forced to miss a start due to flu-like symptoms. Hendricks was back on the mound Sunday night, and gave up four home runs in the first inning of the loss.
The Cubs now have a team ERA of 4.39 and the starters have delivered just four quality starts on the season. This is a troubling trend that will need to get figured out over the next few weeks.
Brewers-Cubs Rivalry Heats Up
It was not a disappointing start to the week in Milwaukee for the Cubs, but it was an exciting and entertaining series. There has always been bad blood between the two teams, but that was taken to another level in the three games.
Milwaukee continues to hit the Cubs with pitches, and Willson Contreras has been their favorite target. It appears that the Cubs have finally had enough, and Ryan Tepera sent the message on the mound.
Tepera delivered a pitch behind Brewers’ ace Brandon Woodruff, and that sparked some conversations between the teams. It also earned Tepera and manager David Ross a suspension, but a message has been delivered to the Brewers.
This will be a fun story to watch develop as the rest of the regular season plays out.
