The Chicago Cubs, in last place in the NL Central, now have the 4th best run differential in all of baseball ….
Last night’s blowout win – the third blowout in that series with the Phillies, the Cubs thankfully getting two of them – brought the Cubs back to .500 on the season, where they’ve kinda meandered around all year. It’s a good sign when you feel like a team has really underperformed but is still at .500, but obviously it’s harder to enjoy when the rest of the division is doing so well (and the losses all still count). Much more on Shota Imanaga’s brilliant night and start to the season soon, but I’ll reiterate what I said last night: credit to Ben Brown and Luke Little for coming in and really understanding the situation/pitching to the score. No one wants to give up runs, but in that situation, your job is to – above all else – come in and throw strikes. The two did, to the tune of a near-75% strike rate in those final three innings. Little gave up a tank to Bryce Harper, but (1) that happens to a lot of guys, and (2) I still liked what I saw from him given the wildness we’ve seen in the past. I think the road to him becoming a trusted late-inning reliever again is going to be a very long one, but you never quite want to close the door on a guy with as much arm talent as he has. Through 17 games last year, Pete Crow-Armstrong was hitting just .197/.264/.258/50 wRC+. That’s when he went supernova for a few months. Here’s hoping history repeats itself – PCA has shown life the last two nights, the second of which was game 18. And, um, then, here’s hoping history doesn’t repeat itself after July. Nico Hoerner tied a career high with 5 RBI in the game, and he’s tied for the fourth most RBI in baseball. I’m not sure that will last for the Cubs’ leadoff hitter, but his production this season has been nuts.Highly detailed stat of the day:Nico Hoerner is the first Cub with a homer, steal & 5+ RBI from the leadoff spot since Augie Galan on 9/12/1935@WatchMarquee
— Christopher Kamka (@ckamka) April 16, 2026 The Hoerner stuff had me perusing the MLB leaderboards this morning, where he’s prominently featured in a number of categories. But a funny thing I saw: at 18.7%, Dansby Swanson has the third highest walk rate in the National League. It would absolutely obliterate his career high mark if he stayed at that level, which he won’t – but it’s important to point out that plate discipline stats do start to show some meaningful signal at 100 PAs (he’s at 75). In other words, we may very well be looking at an elevated walk rate season for Swanson (which is going to be something to watch for guys this year, given the introduction of ABS challenges – not that he’s out there constantly challenging, but it does impact the strike zone overall). Swanson had a big game last night, including another homer, pushing his season line up to .200/.347/.417/119 wRC+. Matt Shaw, who himself had three doubles, sending love to his teammates:#Cubs Matt Shaw on PCA’s defense, his 3 XBH night and Nico Hoerner’s start to the season. pic.twitter.com/2bJkASW6Q3
— Taylor McGregor (@Taylor_McGregor) April 16, 2026 More turnover at the MLBPA:The firings of James and O'Neill come in the wake of the resignation of former MLBPA executive director Tony Clark in February. The Eastern District of New York's investigation into union affairs is ongoing. Players hired outside counsel to likewise look into the matter.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) April 15, 2026 Javy Báez is still El Mago. I love the way this plays out on the broadcast, with you first not being able to see much too special, and then the first replay looks mighty interesting, and the second replay looks absurd:Javy Báez involved in a slide/tag play is the greatest player in baseball history pic.twitter.com/MQayEcWaxy
— Benson (@Miggysbat) April 15, 2026 So many good stories:Make no mistake: While they were great friends, the ‘Bryzzo’ rivalry was REAL ?? pic.twitter.com/kSYtg0fzrZ
— Lovable Reunion (@LovableReunion) April 15, 2026 There really aren’t enough ways to describe how good Shohei Ohtani is at baseball:Shohei Ohtani strikes out the side in the 6th!He's got 10 Ks tonight ? pic.twitter.com/EJETkEGN6g
— MLB (@MLB) April 16, 2026List of pitchers with 675+ strikeouts and a sub-3.00 ERA through their first 103 career games on the mound:Dwight GoodenTim LincecumJacob deGromShohei Ohtani t.co/oydBFV4c2S
— Mathew Mocha (@Mathew_Mocha89) April 16, 2026 It’s not inconceivable that Shohei Ohtani could play well enough as a DH to justify winning the MVP on that basis alone … AND ALSO pitch well enough to justify winning the Cy Young. Pat Murphy was NOT happy about Brewers fans booing Trevor Megill earlier this week, and I actually think this is a nice defense of his player:Brewers Manager Pat Murphy was not pleased with fans booing Trevor Megill in the 9th inning?“I thought it was in poor taste. But I’ve done things in poor taste too, so I forgive them.” pic.twitter.com/bGpBgOjafC
— Hunter Baumgardt (@hunterbonair) April 15, 2026 I understood that reference:My man is still looking for that Pujols ball t.co/W6TY59TmpG
— River Oaks Problems (@RiverOaksPrblms) April 15, 2026 MORE CUBS FROM BLEACHER NATION: Go Ad Free | Subscribe to the BN NewsletterBlackhawks General Manager Kyle Davidson Signs Extension t.co/8s1h0tIzll
— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) April 16, 2026Hence then, the article about running up the run differential thoughtful bullpenning hoerner and other cubs bullets was published today ( ) and is available on Bleacher Nation ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
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