Examining the Cubs Weekend Series Win Over Padres
The Chicago Cubs opened their 2025 home schedule by welcoming in the red-hot San Diego Padres. The Padres entered the weekend with a perfect 7-0 start to their season, so this was going to be an early challenge to see where this Cubs team stacks up against one of the better teams in baseball. The end result was a positive one if you are a Cubs fan as Chicago was able to win the series two games to one, with back-to-back wins on Friday and Saturday before San Diego was able to salvage the final game on Sunday afternoon. With that said, there was plenty to take away from this first weekend of baseball at Wrigley Field.
Bullpen Struggles Continue
After a shaky opening series in Arizona, the Cubs’ high-leverage bullpen arms were not forced into action against the Athletics, meaning they were all rested and ready to go for this weekend's series. So of course, they were tested right away on Friday afternoon when the Cubs took a 3-1 lead into the ninth inning for closer Ryan Pressly, Pressly struggled with his command yet again, and he found himself with two runners on base after a walk and a single. He was fortunate to get out of the jam thanks to a good play by third baseman Matt Shaw, and then a strikeout of Jake Cronenworth to strand the tying run on base. While Pressly completed the save, this was another shaky outing for him in this early season. The bullpen also struggled on Sunday, and this time it did end up resulting in a loss. Chicago had a 7-6 lead entering the eighth inning, but Porter Hodge and Pressly both walked the lead-off batters in the eighth and ninth innings and both of those runners would come around to score. Hodge’s earned run made it a tie game, and then Pressly’s earned run gave the Padres the 8-7 lead in the ninth which would end up being the final score. While it is still very early in the season, the bullpen has already given up two leads in the eighth inning or later resulting in losses. If the Cubs want to be a contender as the season continues, the bullpen is going to have to start performing at a more effective level.
Promising Depth Throughout the Lineup
This Cubs lineup has shown massive success through the first week and a half of this season, and the main reason why is because of the contributions from all over the lineup. Carson Kelly drove in four runs in Saturday’s win while batting in the ninth spot, including a three-run home run to break the game open. Matt Shaw, who is hitting in the eighth spot in the order, got on base in every game this weekend as he continues to make strides at the plate in his rookie season. Key contributions from these guys at the bottom of the lineup have made life so much easier for the guys at the top to continue to produce, which we saw this weekend, especially from Kyle Tucker, Ian Happ, and Dansby Swanson. If the Cubs can continue to work tough counts and be competitive all the way through their lineup, they are going to be a pain for any starting pitcher to go up against all year long.
Matthew Boyd Could Be Chicago’s Most Underrated Offseason Signing
Matthew Boyd had a terrific Cubs debut in Arizona which was unfortunately spoiled by the bullpen. However, he followed up his debut with arguably an even better performance on Saturday in his Wrigley Field debut. The 34-year-old lefty threw six shutout innings while only allowing five hits and one walk to a lineup that included right-handed sluggers such as Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado, Xander Bogaerts, and Yuli Gurriel. Boyd signed a two-year, $29 million deal with the Cubs this winter, and a lot of people around the Cubs had their doubts about giving a 34-year-old starter who does not throw particularly hard, nearly $30 million. However, Boyd has done nothing but prove all of those doubters wrong over his first two starts. His command has been tremendous as he has only walked four batters over his first 11 innings pitched, and he has yet to allow a run. In a rotation that has two stars at the top in Shota Imanaga and Justin Steele, they are seemingly in search of that quality third option behind those two, and Matthew Boyd is doing a lot to make his case for that third spot.
