Cubs get production from bottom of the order in big series win

CHICAGO -- Without a true superstar anchoring the heart of the Cubs’ lineup, one key for Chicago’s order to be fully operational and performing at a high level can be found near the bottom. For the North Siders to churn out runs, the trio occupying the last three spots needs to produce.

That has been a problem area for much of this season for the Cubs, but the past month has featured steady improvement out of the lower third of the batting order. That was the case again on Wednesday afternoon, when Chicago used an 8-2 win over the Twins to claim a series victory at Wrigley Field.

“We’re just getting contributions from nine guys right now on any given day,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “And that makes all the difference in the world, I think. It allows you to be consistent, which I think we’ve done a pretty good job of these past couple weeks. It’s the key to this team being good offensively.”

There were some important home runs at the top -- leadoff man Ian Happ launched a two-run shot in the fourth and No. 2 hitter Michael Busch belted a solo blast in the first -- but the bottom again did its part. Dansby Swanson (seventh), Pete Crow-Armstrong (eighth) and catcher Christian Bethancourt (ninth) combined to go 4-for-11 with two doubles, two RBIs and three runs scored.

The progress in that department has played a clear role in the Cubs’ posting an 18-12 record since the Fourth of July, while averaging 4.6 runs per game. In the previous 61 games, dating back to a 17-0 loss in Boston on April 27, Chicago’s lineup went into a deep funk and managed 3.5 runs on average in that time period.

Last year, the Cubs posted a 97 wRC+ with a .724 OPS out of the Nos. 7-9 spots combined, helping Chicago finish sixth in runs scored in MLB. Entering play Wednesday, the Cubs had a 78 wRC+ with a .629 OPS from the last three spots combined.

“One difference between this year and last year is our lineup has felt more shallow,” Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said late last month. “We’ve had games where it felt like the bottom of the order wasn’t producing. And last year … we were pretty deep one through nine.”

The Cubs entered Wednesday with a 95 wRC+ and .697 OPS out of the Nos. 7-9 slots since the start of July. If the cut-off point is drawn at July 10, those marks climb to 110 wRC+ with a .752 OPS. As Chicago tries to pull itself back to the edge of the National League Wild Card picture, continued production out of the bottom of the order will remain crucial.

“It’s been a lot of guys that have kind of picked their years up and kind of got it going,” Crow-Armstrong said. “It’s at the right time, because we’ve still got 45 left and we’re only getting better as the season goes. And I think that’s such a promising thing, being able to pick it up when the months are starting to get harder.”

Counsell has used Swanson most often as his No. 7 hitter (40 starts), followed by Crow-Armstrong in the No. 8 hole (41 starts) and catcher Miguel Amaya (51 starts) in the No. 9 slot. Bethancourt was a recent addition to assume the backup duties for injured catcher Tomás Nido and has batted eighth or ninth in his four starts.

• Swanson is batting just .230 with a .657 OPS in 106 games this season for the Cubs, but has been on an offensive roll of late. Dating back to July 10, the veteran shortstop has hit .326/.379/.430 with six extra-base hits in a 25-game span.

• Crow-Armstrong’s .205 average and .578 OPS overall do now show the offensive strides he has been making recently, either. In his past 12 games, specifically, the rookie center fielder has hit .317/.333/.488 with three doubles and two triples.

• Amaya (.575 OPS overall in 81 games) recently made some alterations to his batting stance and has enjoyed some encouraging results, too. In his past 18 games dating back to July 7, the catcher has turned in a .298/.365/.468 slash line.
• Bethancourt’s two doubles in Wednesday’s win gave him a .429 (6-for-14) showing with four extra-base hits and five RBIs in his five games for the Cubs. Chicago has gone undefeated in all four of his starts.

“It’s always helpful when the bottom of the lineup can do stuff,” Bethancourt said. “PCA, Amaya, me, Dansby, we’ve been doing it lately.”