Cub of Coffee 5/23/24: Cubs 0, Braves 3

The Cubs are officially in a slump, just 3-7 in their last 10 games. No one wants to read much about this series, so I’ll just leave you with some bullet points.

• Ian Happ got 4 of the Cubs’ 14 hits in this series and none were cheap hits. It’s good to see some progress from a hitter who is very important to this lineup.
• Ben Brown was good in a spot start against a great lineup. His fastball continued to get hit pretty well, and he walked two, but Brown struck out six in just four innings. He got nine whiffs on his curveball.
• Hayden Wesneski came out of the bullpen today and threw two fastballs at 92 MPH or below to Jarred Kelenic, the second of which was hit for a home run. He didn’t throw any fastballs under 93 MPH the rest of his outing, but it’s something to monitor with Wesneski not accustomed to being used like a normal reliever.
• Yan Gomes was better than the Cubs could have hoped in his role last year. This year, however, he’s hitting .174/.183/.275 with a 26 wRC+. Gomes is rating as one of the worst-framing catchers as well. Amaya has played in 11 more games than Gomes, so it seems like the Cubs have been shifting to more of a 60/40 split. I know teams are reluctant to bring in a new catcher at the trade deadline, and the Cubs’ pitching staff has been performing well, but they may have to consider trading for a catcher if this continues.
• Nico Hoerner struck out three times in a game for just the third time in his career on Tuesday night, then walked the game off in his fourth plate appearance and hasn’t struck out since.
• Luke Little’s two most recent appearances were his first two consecutive outings without walks of his major league career.

The Cubs go to St. Louis to play the Cardinals, who are coming off a sweep of the Orioles. Thankfully, the pitching matchup tomorrow is in their favor.