Cody Bellinger is an RBI machine, Keegan Thompson shows good stuff in return – The Denver Post

Jordan Wicks was still embracing the highs of his major-league debut 12 hours after a memorable night at PNC Park.

The Chicago Cubs’ lefty set up the Cubs to go for the series win Sunday against the Pirates after striking out nine in five innings Saturday to earn his first victory. His performance prompted so many messages that he joked Sunday it would take five-to-seven business days to get back to everyone.

The Sunday getaway vibes haven’t always been great this year, but the spirits were high following a 10-1 win to improve Cubs’ Sunday record to 6-15 as they return to Wrigley Field for a three-game series versus the division-leading Milwaukee Brewers.

1. Cody Bellinger is in rare company in franchise history as a run-producing force

Cody Bellinger’s consistency in the middle of the Cubs lineup has been a driving force in their success and postseason contention.

Coming through with runners on base is a big part of why he’s been such a dangerous threat this year. He capped a five-RBI game in Sunday’s victory by shooting a two-run double down the left field line off Pirates lefty reliever Jose Hernandez. It represented Bellinger’s sixth career game with at least five RBIs and his first since June 2, 2021, with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

“He’s able to control the barrel really nicely,” manager David Ross said. “With two strikes, he’s willing to just try to touch the baseball and he stays to big part of the field. You don’t see him pulling off. You rarely see him fouling balls off to the pull side. He’s usually in the at-bat. It’s one of the more impressive things I’ve been able to witness in a long time for somebody with that kind of hand-eye coordination for those balls to go the other way and find holes.”

Bellinger is the first Cub with at least 50 RBIs in a 50-game span since Derrek Lee in 2009.

In the last 50 years, seven Cubs have accomplished the feat: Bellinger, Lee, Aramis Ramírez (2005), Sammy Sosa (1995, 98-03), Henry Rodríguez (1999), Andre Dawson (1987) and Dave Kingman (1979).

Bellinger says he’s “more old school” with how he believes RBIs should be valued.

“It should always be counted in baseball,” Bellinger said. “Leadoff hitters don’t get as much opportunity and obviously being on a better team you get more opportunities. But for me it’s a stat that will always be important.”

2. Younger, inexperienced players stepping up in playoff chase

Meaningful games haven’t been common for the North Siders the previous two seasons.

It creates a dynamic within a largely veteran clubhouse where the Cubs will need meaningful performance from untested younger players who’ve played through the team’s struggles since 2021 or are being called up into the thick of the playoff hunt. Back-to-back stellar starts from Wicks and Javier Assad highlight how the Cubs’ internal options could play pivotal roles in returning to the postseason.

After Wicks retired the final 15 batters he faced Saturday, part of nine strikeouts in five innings, right-hander Javier Assad delivered a quality start Sunday. He limited the Pirates to one run and three hits in seven innings, the fifth time in five starts since being put in the rotation that he gave up two earned runs or fewer.

Both pitchers, and anyone else they bring up from Triple A in September, will have an opportunity to impact the Cubs’ postseason efforts.

“The thing that stands out to me is hopefully it’s another representation of the organizational health moving forward and how healthy and deep we are and the draft and the scouts and player development, everything paying off for these moments to be in a race, need a starter, need help from below and have somebody that you have confidence going to,” manager David Ross said. “It’s just really a good sign for all areas of our organization that hopefully things are moving in the right direction. We all feel like they are.”

3. Keegan Thompson showing signs of old form

Although the Cubs recalled Keegan Thompson from Triple-A Iowa before Thursday’s series opener, the right-hander didn’t get into a game until Sunday’s finale at PNC Park.

Thompson impressed in his two innings to close out the game. He struck out the side in the eighth and didn’t allow the Pirates to generate any late-game momentum. In his first big-league game since May 17, Thompson struck out five of the seven batters he faced, allowed one hit and, perhaps most importantly, didn’t allow a walk.

Ross found a low-leverage spot to work Thompson back into the mix, and he showed encouraging stuff.

“He’s built a lot of trust over his time here,” Ross said Sunday. “And all the things he worked on to be able to go out to see that to the extent it was really clean and crisp and ahead of hitters and the breaking stuff looked really nice. When you get that kind of offensive performance the guys can come out and fill up the zone, it’s impressive with multiple pitches, not just the fastball.”

The outing was reminiscent of the 2022 version of Thompson who could dominate multiple innings out of the bullpen. If the command issues that plagued Thompson earlier this year and for much of his time at Triple A are under control, he could again be a valuable arm when the Cubs need it the most in the next month.

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