The Cubs couldn’t lose at Wrigley Field early in the year. Now, they can’t buy a win at home. Chicago is the first team to follow a 15-game home winning streak with an eight-game losing streak (h/t Jesse Rogers of ESPN).
1. Sanchez’s scoreless streak ends
Phillies left-hander Cristopher Sanchez navigated through six spotless innings on Wednesday against the Padres, pushing his scoreless streak past 50 frames. He was nearly through the seventh inning, but permitted a two-out double to Ty France. Jackson Merrill then followed with an RBI single, ending Sanchez’s streak at 50 2/3. It’s the fifth-longest run in MLB history. Sanchez trimmed his league-leading ERA to 1.46. J.T. Realmuto and Kyle Schwarber homered in the bottom of the inning, so Sanchez ended up earning the win.
2. Happ reaches 1K hits
It wasn’t all bad news for the Cubs on Wednesday. Outfielder Ian Happ doubled to lead off the fourth inning against A’s lefty Jeffrey Springs. The two-bagger was the 1,000th hit of Happ’s career. The 10-year veteran has been a fixture in Chicago’s lineup since debuting in 2017. He’s been an above-average bat by wRC+ in every season. The 31-year-old Happ has shown renewed power this year, launching 13 home runs and slugging .473 through 58 games. He’s on pace to zoom past his career high of 25 home runs, which he’s done twice (2021, 2024).
3. Pfaadt could return to the rotation
Diamondbacks right-hander Brandon Pfaadt allowed two earned runs in mop-up duty on Wednesday against the Dodgers. He’s pitched out of the bullpen since mid-April, but that could be changing soon. Manager Torey Lovullo told reporters, including Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic, that it’s a “strong possibility” Pfaadt will be stretched back out as a starter. That could mean a demotion to Triple-A for the righty. Pfaadt has worked multiple innings several times since moving to the bullpen, but hasn’t reached 50 pitches since his first outing in May. As Piecoro notes, the Diamondbacks could have pitching reinforcements coming from the minors if Pfaadt is sent down.
Photo courtesy of Bill Streicher of Imagn Images
