Cub of Coffee 3/30/24: Cubs 2, Rangers 11

This game was not nearly as fun as the first game, despite them both being losses and the fact that tonight we got to see a Cubs pitching prospect debut.

Kyle Hendricks’ horizontal break
Hendricks wasn’t his usual sharp self tonight, resulting in a short outing. Despite having good velocity (his sinker was up a tick from last year), his command just wasn’t there. I wonder if his lack of command, or maybe just his mechanics being off in general, were related to the increased horizontal break on his pitches. Something to watch in his next start.

Spring Training stats still don’t matter
After a scorching spring, Seiya Suzuki is 1-8 and Dansby Swanson knocked in the Cubs’ only runs for the evening after having just a .467 OPS in spring. I still have more confidence in Suzuki as a hitter than Swanson, but baseball is quick to remind us each year that spring stats don’t matter.

Cubs defense does no favors
Ben Brown showed that he could be a viable big-league pitcher in the first inning of his MLB debut before looking rough in the second, but he wasn’t helped by his defense. No errors were recorded, but there were a couple of balls that Christopher Morel could have gotten to, and a scorcher at Dansby Swanson that would’ve been a tough play but one he probably thinks he should make. This Cubs team can survive some things going wrong, but it’s hard when multiple problems arise at the same time. No facet of the team has been flawless in their losing streak.

I’m looking forward to the Cubs pitching to a different lineup soon. Best of luck to Jordan Wicks.