Although I don’t want to have to do it constantly, it is certainly satisfying to pop dandelions up out of the yard.
Although it wound up a relative thumping by the Cubs, yesterday’s win was also something of a little comeback, as they’d gone down 3-0 early on. The Phillies’ win probability had actually peaked at 80%, so that’s not an insignificant comeback (just the second of the year for the Cubs after trailing by ANY amount at ANY time, so yeah, let’s do that more often, gents). More on Colin Rea’s role in the win, but a tip of the cap to Riley Martin on the first successful “start” of his career. Lazy fly out from Trea Turner, strike out Kyle Schwarber on three pitches, deeper fly out from Bryce Harper. That’s quite a trio to face and retire in order on six pitches. If nothing else, that’ll be a big one for his confidence whenever the inevitable rocky outing arrives.It has to be one of the best feelings in the world for Riley Martin….being greeted by his manager after a job well done, with Hottovy smiling right there in proud acknowledgement. pic.twitter.com/mvpJLvQm94
"That was just a Nico at-bat … he's gonna put a ball in play and that's the difference in a situation like that." Nico Hoerner continues to be elite with RISP ? pic.twitter.com/1AjgvWIb5R
— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) April 15, 2026Nico with RISP. That's it. That's the tweet. pic.twitter.com/TwyUJrFu50
— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) April 15, 2026 From Phillies starter Aaron Nola on Hoerner (Cubs.com): “It’s a challenge. I’ve faced him quite a bit now. He’s fouled some of the craziest two-strike pitches off I’ve ever seen. It’s impressive. He doesn’t take any at-bats off, which makes him tough.” Hoerner has a 121 wRC+ with runners in scoring position since coming into the league, though here’s a fun fact: Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki are actually higher among qualifiers. Doesn’t FEEL like that, but I can tell you why: Nico’s .316 batting average with runners in scoring position is the 5th highest in baseball over that time (min. 700 PAs), tied with Aaron Judge and Yordan Alvarez. He doesn’t hit for as much power or take as many walks, hence the wRC+ not being top-tier, but he gets a LOT of hits in those big spots. More Nico:"First thing I bought that was cool? I bought a suit for the press conference. That felt good." ?@Cubs star Nico Hoerner talks about his recent contract extension, capping off a year where he got engaged and won a Gold Glove!MLB Network + @CoronaUSA pic.twitter.com/9X1mzQHIwj
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) April 14, 2026 After his first strong night at the plate in a while, Pete Crow-Armstrong bumped his slash line to .221/.264/.294/56 wRC+, which is obviously quite bad, but it’s a far cry from where he was when his night started (.203/.239/.266/39). Hopefully it’s turning around soon for PCA, whose offensive upside is significant, but whose struggles at the plate go way back into last year and obviously have been extremely deep:Pete Crow-Armstrong's ranks among 149 qualified hitters since 8/2/2025…AVG: .190 (147th)OBP: .237 (149th)SLG: .283 (147th)wOBA: .227 (149th)wRC+: 42 (149th) pic.twitter.com/weYCyDvTzB
— Eric Cross (@EricCrossMLB) April 14, 2026 This quote from Craig Counsell to The Athletic was in the context of Michael Busch getting a break after his extended slump, but I think it’s just a good thing to remember in general about the nature of hitting: “I think what I’ve seen — when you go into the at-bats and they feel mechanical, you need a break. Everybody’s got their own mechanics, but when you get into the box, you kind of get rid of them. When they become the central thought of your at-bats, that’s when the trouble happens.” To put that another way, this is why it’s so difficult to make meaningful swing changes during the season. It’s hard to be up at the plate, trying to produce against the best pitching in the world, while also consciously telling your body to swing a certain new-ish way. For 90% of guys, that is just not going to work. You have to drill, drill, drill in the changes during the offseason to really lock in the muscle memory – that way, when you’re at the plate and it all counts, you can turn off that part of your brain and instead focus on the at bat, itself. In turn, that’s sometimes why we see crazy performances in either direction over the first month of the season (in addition to small sample stuff). You might have someone like Jordan Walker, who always had the talent, but never quite got his swing to maximize his production – well, clearly he got it locked in over the offseason, and now he’s taking off. On the flip side, you might have a guy who was trying to get something new locked in over the offseason, and it’s only after several weeks of struggle in the new season that he accepts it simply isn’t taking (or that it was a bad idea from the jump). Sometimes those guys can find renewed success simply by abandoning any conscious changes and just going back to whatever their body wants to do naturally. (Caveat to all of that: just like not every player is created equally, not every swing change is created equally. Some things are easier to tweak in season for some guys, and some things are not. Apply none of this universally or with hard lines!) Ethan Roberts being injured when he was, man, that’s just about as awful as the timing can get for a young, up-down pitcher who was about to have a very real chance to establish himself and stick around for a while, thanks to all the other injuries. It’s just horrible timing for him, and a horribly freak injury, too:Roberts: "It’s bad timing for the team because they need innings out of guys to take heat off of their leverage guys, so that’s what’s frustrating.”More on Roberts' freak injury and the Cubs carrying 5 lefty relievers: t.co/nB2i7l9n7g t.co/Toj7i9gcyx
— Meghan Montemurro (@MegMontemurro) April 14, 2026 The season is long, and the need for innings will be deep at other points of the year. Hopefully the cut can heal in a couple weeks and leave his performance unaffected. A profile on former Phillies starter Vince Velasquez, who is currently pitching at Iowa in the Cubs org. It’s definitely the 20 runs in the first inning for me:I dont know what the craziest part of this box score is… ?The 20 run first inning? 31 runs in 4 innings? Or 31 runs on 10 hits? pic.twitter.com/A7mnti3nXU
— John Bollman (@JohnBollman11) April 14, 2026 REALLY think about what an inning looks like with 20(!) runners getting on base, moving over, and scoring. That’s more than two times through the entire order with every guy getting on, moving over, and scoring. It is interminable, especially given that so many of them were walks. A reminder that the adjustment to playing in The States is about more than just the competition:When asked about outside of baseball, Imai said through interpreter: "The travel is different from Japan, and also the timing when players eat. So in Japan, the players, when they get back to the hotel, they eat their dinner. But in here, the players eat at the stadium." t.co/zD3YgBTpMx
— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) April 14, 2026 All of that is why the Cubs take so seriously their work making the transition for Japanese players – yes, including the food – as seamless as possible. With both Shota Imanaga and Seiya Suzuki free agents after this season, I hope the Cubs figure out a way to keep the steady flow of players from Japan on the roster. You want to take advantage of having that built up expertise, and continue to show the next generation of Japanese stars that your team is where they can find success and happiness. The Mets lost their 7th straight and even the owner is trying to keep the spirits high publicly:Nobody likes to lose but I saw some “ green shoots tonight “. On offense, Lindor had two hits including a home run. Bichette got a double hitting it to left field as opposed to recently being right field prone. Benge got a solid hit. Soto started his running progression today.…
— Steven Cohen (@StevenACohen2) April 15, 2026 Let’s hope those green shoots don’t sprout into anything good too quickly – just need the Mets to keep on slumping badly through the weekend, when they come to Wrigley Field. MORE CUBS FROM BLEACHER NATION: Go Ad Free | Subscribe to the BN NewsletterHence then, the article about comeback cubs martin s start nico s knocks roberts bad luck 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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