The Cubs offense hit a bit of a rough patch last weekend against the Phillies and there were glaring issues with the starting lineup. Most noticeably, Dansby Swanson had been in a brutal slump, while Justin Turner wasn’t providing much production vs. left-handed pitching. So, Craig Counsell made big lineup changes Tuesday night and they immediately paid off. Not only did the Cubs shutout the Pirates 9-0, they also reached a rare MLB milestone.
Swanson was moved to the No. 8 spot in the lineup, while Carson Kelly batted fourth against left-handed starting pitcher Andrew Heaney. Both players homered as Kelly began the scoring with his seventh home run of the season. It was a two-run shot off of Heaney in the fourth inning, snapping the left-hander’s 20-inning scoreless streak.
Swanson homered in the eighth inning, marking his first long ball since April 8, against the Rangers.
Pete Crow-Armstrong and Seiya Suzuki also hit a pair of two-run homers as the Cubs offense pounded 13 hits in the series opener Tuesday night. PCA’s two-run homer in the fifth inning was the beginning of the end for Heaney as he was chased out later in the inning after walking three batters. It was Heaney’s first start this season that he did not pitch at least five innings.
It was a great bounce back game for the Cubs as all nine starting players recorded at least one hit, seven different players scored and five different hitters had at least one RBI.
Cubs batters also reached base via walk five times and for the first time since 2013, no one struck out!
That snapped a streak of 1,829 games without striking out for the Cubs.
Only one team accomplished a no-strikeout game during the 2024 regular season and that was the Dodgers. The Mets also did it in the playoffs.
The Cubs continue to lead MLB in scoring, averaging 6.03 runs per game. Through 30 games the Cubs rank No. 6 on offense with a 20.2 K%.
