The Chicago Cubs haven’t been swept this year (unless you count the two-gamer against Cleveland), and that quietly goes a long way toward keeping your team afloat when things are otherwise not going so well. Indeed, the Cubs have been on the verge of a sweep four times this year and have salvaged the finale each time. That includes a four-gamer against the Braves back in April, and then three already this month: the four-gamer against the Giants, the four-gamer against the Mets, and this weekend’s three-gamer against the Marlins.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s not GOOD that the Cubs have lost a lot of series recently. But avoiding the sweep is key in not letting a rough stretch become the kind of June swoon that sinks your season. It also helps you pull this off: despite those three near sweeps during this stretch, the Cubs are 10-9 in June. That, despite a brutal schedule, lots of travel, and tons of injuries.
The Cubs are the only NL playoff contender not to have been swept this year, a fact I know very quickly to be true in large part because the Cubs have swept four of the contenders themselves (Dodgers, Mets, Cardinals, Padres). It might not sound like a big deal not to have been swept in a three or four-game series by mid-June, but it is, and it has really helped the Cubs.
Keep on salvaging series when you have to, and otherwise win a few (while getting healthy and adding a starting pitcher …), and the Cubs will come out of this tough June stretch in really good shape to make a real run in July and beyond.
The highlights from yesterday’s win:
