AP Photo/Gregory Bull

The Rundown: Counsell Pushes Right Buttons, Conforto Clicking, Steele Expresses Disappointment, Hoerner Regrets Not Confronting Rushing

Photo of Michael Canter Michael CanterApril 30, 2026

“I see the strings that control the system. I can do anything with no resistance.” – Handlebars by Flobots

The Cubs beat the Padres 5-4 yesterday, taking two of three in San Diego to finish 3-3 on a road trip that should have produced four wins. They return home a half-game behind the Reds in the NL Central with a chance to push ahead in the gridlocked division while defending Wrigley Field. Yesterday’s heroes included Jameson Taillon, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Matt Shaw, and Ben Brown, with the latter being particularly gutsy. However, nobody was on his game more than Craig Counsell.

Counsell’s decisions worked in his favor all afternoon.

  • He started Michael Conforto over Seiya Suzuki, and Conforto flat-out balled in the contest. The backup outfielder entered the game slashing .308/.441/.864 with a 154 OPS+ and seven hits in his previous 18 at-bats. He’s also walked seven times against 10 strikeouts, an elite rate that negates the small sample size argument. The double he hit wasn’t much more than a dropped fly ball, but scoring on a grounder to first base with a fantastic slide to give the Cubs a 4-3 lead was one of the keys to winning the game. Suzuki would have been an easy out on that play.
  • Taillon carried a perfect game into the 5th inning, then lost a three-run lead in that frame. Counsell could have pulled him, but the veteran starter stymied the Padres for two more innings before turning it over to the bullpen. Taillon retired 21 of the 25 batters he faced.
  • Brown entered the game with the bases loaded and no outs in the bottom of the 8th and the Cubs up 5-3. He gave up a sacrifice fly to Fernando Tatís Jr. before Manny Machado hit into a rally-killing double play. Brown got two outs in the 9th and was lifted when Gavin Sheets was announced as a pinch hitter for Miguel Andujar. Hoby Milner relieved Brown as Sheets sat in favor of Ramón Laureano, who Milner struck out for the save. Counsell was one step ahead of San Diego substitute manager Randy Knorr all game.
  • Shaw started at second base with Nico Hoerner sliding over to shortstop for the injured Dansby Swanson. The sophomore jack-of-all-trades finished 3-for-4 with a home run and an RBI and turned the double play that kept Chicago ahead in the 8th. Counsell could have started Nicky Lopez at shortstop, but Shaw has rewarded his manager whenever or wherever he’s been asked to fill in. Shaw is also the anti-Conforto of sorts, as he’s added loft to his swing to compensate for below-average bat speed.

Counsell has been masterful all season, and yesterday’s effort was the manager’s best as a Cub.

Cubs News & Notes

Ball Four

I’ve got nothing…

Central Intelligence

How About That!

Dodgers catcher Will Smith will host his 3rd annual Dodgers Comedy Night, part of the “Netflix Is a Joke” comedy festival. The May 7 fundraiser is for the Catching Hope foundation, launched by Smith and his wife to “equip at-risk youth with skills in leadership and self-sufficiency.”

The Giants and Phillies are playing a split doubleheader, and Kyle Schwarber launched his 350th career home run in the morning contest.

The three worst teams in baseball (Mets, Phillies, Astros) carry top-12 payrolls. In aggregate, the record of the top 12 is 185-179, which means the average winning percentage of the dozen biggest payrolls in baseball equates to an 82-win team.

Apropos of Nothing

Conforto’s average exit velocity is up 4.2% this year, to a career-high 94.1 mph. His launch angle has dropped to 11.8, which is probably by design. The outfielder is hitting the ball harder and flatter, evidenced by an extraordinary 0.0 pop-up rate.  That’s why he is hitting .300 with an xBA of .304 and a .500 xSLG. He’s also walking at a much higher rate, so his xOBA is a robust .404.

That’s not to suggest the 33-year-old is on the cusp of a career-defining season. The driver remains Counsell’s preference for favorable matchups, but those adjustments are playing a big part, too.

Three Up and Three Down

  1. The Cubs host the Diamondbacks starting tomorrow, but they won’t face Arizona’s best pitcher in the series. That would be ex-Cub Michael Soroka, who is 4-0 with a 2.60 ERA and 34 strikeouts in 27.2 innings.
  2. Arizona is led offensively by Nolan Arenado and Ildemaro Vargas. That said, the D-Backs have regularly struggled to limit damage when innings begin to unravel.
  3. The Cubs will face Merrill Kelly on Sunday. Kelly is 1-2 with a 9.20 ERA and an unsightly 2.25 WHIP. He’ll be opposed by good guy Matthew Boyd, who is the first recipient of MLB’s new Most Valuable Philanthropist Award.

Extra Innings

Conforto doing his best Javier Báez impression.

They Said It

  • “I just know I have given 100% and have done everything that’s been asked of me and at the end of the day that’s all I can do. But some things just can’t be explained. For a lack of a better term; ‘shit just happens sometimes…’ I also know I am one of the best pitchers on this planet. And I will get back to that and even better. There has never been a backup plan. It’s always been baseball. And it will remain that way.” – Steele
  • “[Counsell’s] putting us in positions to have success. This group, we’re always prepared, and we’re always looking for that opportunity.” – Carson Kelly

Thursday Walk-Up Song

Amazing and powerful. Conversations end when assumptions begin. A soul trapped by assumption therefore lives in confusion and conflict.

Photo of Michael Canter Michael CanterApril 30, 2026
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