Bazzana Bananza at the Corner!
Travis Bazzana hits his first MLB home run in a 6-4 win for the Guardians!
The Cubs are on an MLB-best 9-game winning streak, primarily due to their success in late innings. Their ability to pressure pitchers and secure walk-off wins has been crucial to their performance.
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The Cubs have an MLB-best 9-game winning streak, and itâs not because theyâre flawless. Theyâve turned late innings into their advantage, and thatâs what is separating them right now. Not just from the NL, but from all of MLB.
On Wednesday, Chicago walked off the Reds again, grinding out a 10-inning win that featured another ninth-inning comeback and another magical finish in the friendly confines. The Cubs have stacked multiple walk-off wins in this streak and pushed their Wrigley home run of dominance to a ridiculous level. And itâs not by accident. The Cubs lineup keeps pressure on pitchers, their bench contributes, and the bullpen hasnât completely imploded.
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The major factor driving this streak is simple â late-game offense that doesnât quit. Not just one guy. Not one inning. But a pattern. The Cubs are scoring in the seventh, eighth, ninth, and extras, and theyâre doing it against real relievers, not mop-ups. Thatâs what makes it sustainable. Great teams donât need nine perfect innings. One ugly inning that flips a game will do just fine. Peachy, in fact.
And yes, the bullpen matters too, even when itâs patched together. The Cubs have gotten enough key outs from the back end to give the offense a chance to steal games late. That the relievers have been able to hold the line has given the offense the shot at that one swing thatâs cashed.
The Cubs are currently on a 9-game winning streak, the best in MLB.
The Cubs have been winning by capitalizing on late-inning situations, including multiple walk-off victories.
Key factors include a strong lineup that pressures pitchers, contributions from the bench, and a bullpen that has remained stable.
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This is also a roster identity thing. The Cubs are winning with situational execution â quality at-bats, taking walks, forcing defense, and making their opponents throw more pitches than they want to. Thatâs why the streak is real. Theyâre not playing hope baseball. Theyâre playing finish baseball.
And if youâre the rest of the NL Central watching this, the message is annoying but clear. Chicago isnât just hot. Chicago is comfortable.