2026 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 15

Reminder: I’m on vacation all this week and will be a little briefer than usual and one or more pieces could be delayed. Thanks for your patience.

Now that one looked like fun. In my head, come-from-behind victories reach almost mythic proportions. The Sandberg Game is the prototype. To be fair, I had to look it up to remember they trailed by six in that one. I mostly remember the homers in the ninth and 10th to tie it. The Dwight Smith game is my favorite. That one was a nine-run deficit at one point. In 2018, it was a game against the Braves where they trailed by eight. My 2016 memory was a game against the Mariners that was a six-run deficit.

I could easily suggest that a game like that is often a part of a future playoff team. In reality, I’m sure if I deep dived, you’d find that a five or more run comeback occurs more years than not and at worst every two or three years. I might also hypothesize that they happen more frequently in the modern game. I don’t know that the data supports that, but it feels like with shorter starts and the parade of relievers, those comebacks are more likely to occur.

None of that matters. What does matter right now is that the Cubs overcame a five-run deficit on Sunday to avert a sweep at the hands of the Pirates. If you didn’t see it, the Pirates haven’t swept the Cubs at Wrigley since 2017. The Cubs haven’t been swept by anyone at Wrigley since 2023.

Sweeps, come from behinds. These are relatively arbitrary occurrences. The long and the short of it is that the Cubs found a way in this one. Exactly what the doctor ordered.

Three Positives:

• Dansby Swanson was all over this game. Just one hit, though it was a homer, and he scored three times.
• Riley Martin faced five batters and retired four of them. This was still pretty moderate leverage, but a few more outings like this and it’s going to not easily be dismissed.
• I’m going with Alex Bregman for being a part of something that taught me something new. His pop out RBI was something I’ve never seen before (not a sacrifice fly, but an RBI). A hit, a walk and two runs drive in.

Game 15, April 12: Cubs 7, Pirates 6 (7-8)

Reminder: Heroes and Goats are determined by WPA scores and are in no way subjective.

THREE HEROES:

• **Superhero:**Michael Busch (.427). 1-1, RBI
• **Hero:**Michael Conforto (.174). 1-1, 2B
• Sidekick: Dansby Swanson (.107). 1-2, HR, 3 R

THREE GOATS:

• **Billy Goat:**Jamseon Taillon (-.310). 6 IP, 26 BF, 6 H, 2 BB, 1o K.
• Goat: Pete Crow-Armstrong (-.117). 0-4
• Kid: Matt Shaw (-.081). 0-3

Cubs Player of the Game:

WPA Play of the Game: Michael Busch pinch hit with runners on first and second, with two outs and the Cubs down two. Busch singled and, with the help of some shoddy Pittsburgh defense, both runners scored. (.427)

*Pirates Play of the Game: Brandon Lowe’s second inning grand slam made it an early five run lead. (.258)

Up next: The Cubs match up with the Phillies in Philadelphia in a matchup of two 7-8 teams. Javier Assad makes his second big league start of the year. (0-0, 0.00 ERA). 29-year-old Cristopher Sánchez starts for the Phillies. He is 1-1 with a 1.65 in the early going.

This is the kind of day where you are happy Seiya Suzuki is back in the lineup against a tough lefty. Let’s get back to .500.