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2026 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 22
TL;DR
The Cubs are on a six-game winning streak, showcasing strong defense and effective pitching. Despite concerns about their frontline pitching and offensive cohesion, they are currently performing well against struggling teams.
Key points
- Cubs on a six-game winning streak
- Strong defense with seven outs saved
- Colin Rea and relievers excelled
- Concerns about frontline pitching remain
- Offense scoring well despite issues
CubsMetsPhilliesColin Rea
This team is starting to show that it has a lot of different ways to beat you. Monday night, Craig Counsell talked in his press conference about seven outs saved by his defense in a single game. I donât know that all of the metrics will find all seven of those, but if you saw much of this game, you surely caught a highlight reel play or two by the defense. The defense sparkled, Colin Rea and a pair of relievers were fantastic and the Cubs offense put enough runs on the board for this one to feel like a fairly easy one.
You are rarely as bad a team as you appear to be when you are struggling. The same goes in the opposite direction. You are rarely as good a team as you appear to be when you are streaking. This team is on fire right now. The things you were worried about last week when this team had lost three of four games to drop to a season-low two games under .500 havenât really gone away. Facing the Mets and Phillies when they are down is masking a lot of issues. This team is basically devoid of any frontline pitching right now. They also havenât found their cohesion offensively.
On the other hand, theyâve been getting frontline type pitching numbers for a while now. And their offense is scoring a lot of runs. How well will all of that hold up as the competition stiffens? Well, weâll start finding out later in the week. I suspect weâll see a little more out of these Phillies, maybe even before the end of this series. But for now, itâs six straight wins and Iâm not apologizing or giving any of it back. Keep taking advantage of timing. Keep adding on. Hopefully, this team starts getting some injured players back and in the interim, some guys earn playing time well into the time when this roster is healthier.
Baseball is so very fun when everything is going right. This is now a 95.7 win pace. Thatâll play.
Three Positives:
- Colin Rea was terrific. Defensive help or no, 20 outs recorded on 28 hitters faced. Six hits and two walks, but only one run. He struck out five.
Q&A
What is the current winning streak of the Cubs?
The Cubs are currently on a six-game winning streak.
Who is the Cubs' pitcher mentioned in the article?
Colin Rea is the pitcher highlighted in the article for his performance.
How does the Cubs' recent performance compare to their earlier struggles?
The Cubs have improved significantly, overcoming a stretch where they lost three of four games and were two games under .500.
What challenges does the Cubs' roster currently face?
The Cubs are dealing with a lack of frontline pitching and are missing some injured players.
