Cubs offense strikes early and fast and wins clearly against Mets

In its current form, the Cubs’ offense is not designed to be carried by a single batter.

“I think the offensive performance ultimately comes from having different players every day,” manager Craig Counsell said Saturday morning. “I think that’s how this lineup is going to work.”

That’s exactly what the Cubs batters did a few hours later.

Every starter except Ian Happ reached base on Saturday and every batter except Nico Hoerner either scored a run or hit a run in the Cubs’ 8-1 victory over the Mets at Wrigley Field. It was the Cubs’ largest victory since April 7, when they beat the Dodgers by the same score.

A day after missing an opportunity to score early runs, the Cubs took advantage of their chance to strike in the 1st inning, getting all nine batters to bat in the opener against Mets starter Tylor Megill and scoring five runs to secure an early lead.

The stretch was capitalized by two consecutive extra-base hits – an RBI double by Dansby Swanson and an RBI triple by Pete Crow-Armstrong. The Cubs forced Megill to use 38 pitches to get the first three outs of the game.

The Cubs benefited from their newest hitter, catcher Tomás Nido, who was signed earlier this week and made his first start as a Cub. Nido was 1-for-4 with a double and a run scored.

“I think a big part of it for us is getting the catchers to perform better in Dansby and Nico,” Counsell said. “And that’s how we’re going to stay consistent. The best way to stay consistent is to be able to rely on the nine pitches, on a different day, every week or so, across different stretches.

“They’re always going to ask me about the guy who’s cold, and there’s always going to be someone who swings well. But if we can talk about nine guys instead of four guys, we have a better chance of being consistent.”

That was plenty of support for Jameson Taillon, who had one of his best performances as a Cub.

The right-hander recorded 10 strikeouts in 7 innings and allowed just one run. It was the first time Taillon had double-digit strikeouts in a start since August 4, 2021, when he was still a Yankee.