When things are good, they seem like they’re never going to end. When things are bad, it’s hard to remember how they can ever get good again. Often true in life, always true in a baseball season …
The standings don’t necessarily matter on May 20, since they’re not handing out playoff tickets today (though we certainly like to celebrate the standings any day they look nice). What matters is wins and losses, relative to the other clubs you’re facing for various playoff positions. That sounds a lot like another way of saying “standings,” but what I mean is that right now we don’t have to freak about the actual standings so much as the banked wins and losses. Once a win or a loss happens, it is set in stone. So, the fact that losing the last two nights to the Brewers flipped them in the standings, specifically, is not what bothers me. Instead, it’s the fact that losing the last two nights (at home, no less) locked in losses for the Cubs, wins for the Brewers, AND gets the Brewers all the closer to locking in a tiebreaker against the Cubs. That’s all quite bad, regardless of the standings on May 20. In other words, even if you say the standings don’t matter this week, the losses certainly do. The other way to frame the moment is to look plainly at the Cubs’ record and .592 winning percentage, which is a 96-win pace. Not like anyone would’ve said no to that in March. I don’t know that I can fully embrace that thinking this morning after another frustrating loss, but the angels of my better nature tell me that’s the “right” way to think about it or something. Still, not sure I could summon the positivity to say this publicly after last night (even if it’s probably the right attitude for the guys in the clubhouse to have right now):"If you would have told us this was going to be our record at this point in the season, I think everyone would have signed up for it. Move on from here and attack tomorrow." Ian Happ and the Cubs are ready to reset and take care of business tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/Hrr6AosfJo
Jacob Misiorowski's 6th and 7th Ks…thru 4 pic.twitter.com/T7S7wxxxYz
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 20, 2026 But anyway, yeah, Misiorowski is good:Jacob Misiorowski is the first pitcher in Major League Baseball history to have 5 straight starts of 8+ strikeouts and no extra-base hits allowed.He hasn't allowed an extra-base hit in a month and five days. He's struck out 44 batters in that time.
— Curt Hogg (@CyrtHogg) May 20, 2026Jacob Misiorowski of the @Brewers is the only MLB pitcher in the modern era to have a 4-start span with 30+ strikeouts, 0 runs allowed & 0 XBH allowed. pic.twitter.com/6dvllDqgWO
— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) May 20, 2026 One guy I won’t dump on is Michael Conforto, who had a pinch-hit chance for another hero moment in the 8th. He was called upon with the bases loaded and the Cubs down three – the script was written! – but he grounded out to end the threat. It would simply be too much if he came through EVERY time, I guess. Something to keep an eye on: Phil Maton’s cutter (which is his base fastball, essentially) had its velocity back last night (91 mph). Maybe it was just a flukey night, or maybe he finally figured out whatever mechanical issue was inhibiting the velo all year. Bad play, it happens:Given that my notifications were absolutely nuked from this one, I'm happy to share this is an 80% ball from Statcast. If that holds, PCA will drop .80 OAA.I can officially confirm this was not a good play. There you have it. t.co/MTt2gg43SL
— The WARmonger (@TheWARmonger_) May 20, 2026 I saw that Ryan Jensen had a really nice multi-inning relief appearance at Iowa last night, which got me wondering about his return season to the Cubs organization. Unfortunately it’s not going great overall – 5.40 ERA over 16.2 innings, 22.7% K, 20.5% BB (eep) – but I’ve just gotta root for the guy. He was the Cubs’ first round pick back in 2019, has flashed premium stuff and got himself on the doorstep of the bigs with the Cubs, then the Mariners, then the Twins, and now back with the Cubs again. He’s still only 28 and you can dream about him getting just enough control to let the stuff play. Speaking of former Cubs top prospects for whom I will never stop rooting, Brennen Davis has made the Mariners’ 40-man roster (he’s raking at Triple-A once again), though he hasn’t yet been called up. Obviously I wish it could’ve happened with the Cubs, but when he makes his big league debut, it’ll be a huge celebration for a guy who grinded through so many injuries and surgeries and fits and starts after being right there on the doorstep in 2021. Schwarbs:Is this the year Kyle Schwarber joins the 60 … or 70! … home run club?The Phillies slugger is thumping homers at a historic pace. Here's what his early stats say about how many he can belt by the end of the 2026 season. t.co/R1Q8rEASzY
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) May 20, 2026 Quite the day for weird grand slams. There was the inside-the-park James Wood grand slam, and then this craziness:A grand slam six pitches into the game ? pic.twitter.com/vByp8coSaD
— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) May 19, 2026 If you’re gonna talk, you gotta back it up:The Karma Police got Connor Fennell. ?? pic.twitter.com/B1v5acm9oI
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 19, 2026 I kinda can’t believe Kane Kepley didn’t get the bump to Double-A Knoxville yesterday:In protest of not receiving his deserved promotion this week, Kane Kepley just hit a 3-run home run pic.twitter.com/1lIPqIfrGZ
— Greg Huss (@OutOfTheVines) May 20, 2026 MORE CUBS FROM BLEACHER NATION: Go Ad Free | Subscribe to the BN NewsletterHence then, the article about how the standings matter misiorowski dominates maton jensen 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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