CHICAGO (670 The Score) -- The recent surge of the Cubs, with wins in 10 of their last 11 games, has been mostly attributed to the outstanding starting pitching and bullpen strength of the veteran roster.
The key to championships is through pitching and defense, but there's little doubt that the Cubs folded up their tent and lost the division and wild-card game in 2018 because of a lack of run-scoring ability and home run power.
The Cubs have addressed that problem this season. The Cubs are averaging 5.71 runs per game, second in baseball, trailing only the Rangers. Yhey would score a franchise-record 925 runs this season if they kept up this torrid pace.
The Cubs' offseason was kicked off by president of baseball operations Theo Epstein firing hitting coach Chili Davis and throwing down a challenge to manager Joe Maddon to get more involved in the day-to-day coaching of the hitters. Maddon has embraced that role and worked with new hitting coach Anthony Iopoce on special projects with the offense.
The results have been excellent to this point. The Cubs have homered in 15 straight games entering the series against the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday. Both Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant have been hot after a tepid output of run production through mid-April.
In 2018, Maddon and Davis devised a plan to focus on using the entire field in the team's collective hitting approach. That attempt worked in the first half. With Bryant suffering several injuries and a less-than-receptive group to Davis and his communication technique, the club's offense tanked in the second half.
The Cubs believe they're now accomplishing those dual goals -- using the whole field while still showcasing power.
"We are using the opposite field, opposite field, opposite field, opposite field," Maddon said. "We're not trying to lift the ball as much now. We are still hitting our homers. Weird, huh?"
Maddon was referencing how he has fought the launch angle fad and focus on pulling the ball to create power.
"Guys have been hitting home runs for years without doing the comported things that are being taught today," Maddon said. "If you want to handle velocity and try to lift the ball with your swing, it is just not going to happen. So I think we have had a better approach, and we are not trying to lift necessarily. We are utilizing the opposite gap, staying inside the ball better and making adjustments with two strikes. You don't have to get hits to keep the conga line going. Just try and not make an out once in a while. That is a neat philosophy to follow."
That point is proved by the Cubs MLB-leading .351 on-base percentage this season. The team's .811OPS leads the National League and is third in MLB.
"It's rare that you get one through nine rolling at the same time in the lineup," Maddon said. "Five to seven or eight was really productive for us early. Now it's morphed back to the top of the batting order. That is normally the way baseball goes. If you get them going all at the same time, you will have a nice hot streak.
"Right now you can see what KB and Rizz are doing. Guys like (Willson) Contreras and (Javier) Baez have been there all year. Jason (Heyward) as well. It's all been really fun to watch for me."
Bruce Levine covers the Cubs and White Sox for 670 The Score. Follow him on Twitter @MLBBruceLevine.
