CHICAGO — Injuries? No excuses.

Memorable comeback victories? Plenty.

The Chicago Cubs’ torrid stretch has them tied for the best record (26-12) in Major League Baseball coming off a four-game sweep of the Cincinnati Reds. They’ve won 19 of 22 games — a 10-game winning streak followed by a brief three-game skid on the West Coast and now nine consecutive wins heading into a road stretch against the Texas Rangers, Atlanta Braves and Chicago White Sox.

“We’ve played really well,” president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said at the beginning of the homestand. “Now, the reality is that we’ve had a ton of bullpen injuries and pitching injuries and we have to overcome those. But, yes, all things considered, you look at where our record is and how we’ve gotten there, I think we’ve played well.

“But we have five more months to go and we’ve got to keep doing it.”

As the Cubs put together their latest impressive run, three numbers stand out.

1. 15 consecutive wins at Wrigley Field

The Cubs are loving the home environment, regardless of the sometimes finicky elements.

Who says a home-field advantage can’t provide a tangible boost? The Cubs certainly have been playing like it can. The 15 consecutive wins at Wrigley Field is their longest home winning streak since tallying 18 straight from Sept. 4-22, 1935. It also represents the longest such streak in the majors since 2023, when the New York Yankees won 15 consecutive at home.

“I’m not the type of person to believe something you can’t physically see,” pitcher Shota Imanaga told reporters through interpreter Edwin Stanberry after Thursday’s win. “But I feel like at Wrigley, there’s this power that you can’t see, but you can kind of feel where it’s like with the fans and the cheering, where the other team feels the pressure if you’re on the mound or if you’re up to bat.

“And then on the other side, when we’re up to bat or if we’re pitching, you feel that extra push and support of this power you can’t see. I think there is something there.”

The Cubs just completed their second 7-0 homestand this year — the first time they’ve accomplished that feat in a single season since 1880, according to team historian Ed Hartig.

A pair of four-game sweeps against the Philadelphia Phillies and Reds, both coming at Wrigley, marks the first time the Cubs have recorded multiple four-game sweeps in a season since 2018, when they did it three times against the Milwaukee Brewers, New York Mets and Reds. The last time the Cubs had at least two four-game sweeps within their first 38 games was 1920.

“It’s pretty special,” left fielder Ian Happ said Thursday. “Four-game sweeps in the big leagues is really hard. Any sweep’s tough, but four games is pretty impressive. Our ability to do it in a bunch of different ways (has) been the most impressive part and (with) contributions from all over the place.”

2. 2.83 rotation ERA

The injury blows haven’t stopped for the Cubs.

The rotation already had been tested with Cade Horton out for the season after elbow surgery and Justin Steele’s return from April 2025 elbow surgery, initial targeted for late May/early June, getting delayed until potentially after the All-Star break because of a flexor strain. Then Matthew Boyd needed surgery on the meniscus in his left knee this week, sustaining the injury while playing at home with his kids.

The Cubs rotation keeps stepping up, though. Its collective 2.83 ERA during the nine-game winning streak is second-best in the majors in that span. Left-hander Imanaga has been everything the Cubs have needed to set the tone. He has allowed just one run, on a homer, in 13 innings over his last two starts while striking out 15 and walking four. Imanaga has lowered his season ERA to 2.28 in eight starts, giving up one run or fewer in six of those games.

It hasn’t fallen solely on Imanaga’s shoulders to keep the staff rolling. Cubs starters’ 54 innings pitched over the last 10 days are the second-most by a big-league rotation. They’ve been able to put together strong innings in part by shutting down opponents’ chances when they do get on base — an MLB-leading 92.2% left-on-base percentage during this stretch — aided by an elite defense.

The Cubs will need continued consistency from Edward Cabrera, Jameson Taillon and Colin Rea to get through this stretch without Boyd and Steele.

3. 52 runs scored

As one of the best offenses in baseball, the Cubs can beat teams in a variety of ways.

The offensive versatility has been on display, especially their ability to win close games. Five of the wins during the nine-game streak were decided by one run, including three straight walk-offs Monday through Wednesday.

The three walk-off wins against the Reds was just the fourth time in franchise history the Cubs recorded three walk-off victories versus the same opponent, according to Elias Sports Bureau. It previously occurred in 1943 and 1932 against the New York Giants and 1932 against the Boston Braves.

Led by hot stretches from Happ (193 weighted runs created plus), first baseman Michael Busch (202 wRC+), center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong (171 wRC+) and right fielder Seiya Suzuki (120 wRC+), the Cubs’ 52 runs scored over their last nine games trail only the Yankees (59), and they own the third-highest on-base percentage (.358) and wRC+ (124).

Crow-Armstrong has slugged more home runs (three) during this nine-game winning streak than he hit in his first 29 games (one).

“I just expect he and Michael to get hot here at some point soon,” Hoyer said at the start of the homestand of Crow-Armstrong and Busch. “That’s the thing I like about our offense the most is Nico (Hoerner has) carried us early. He’s not going to keep up that pace, but you know that when he comes down a little bit, we have other guys who sort of haven’t hit their stride yet.

“I look at Pete and Michael in that vein. It’s a matter of time until those guys break out, and when they do, both those guys have a chance to get hot and carry us for a while with their talent.”

DENVER — Max Scherzer once likened pitching at Coors Field to playing baseball “on the moon.” The thin mountain air has a way of eliminating the movement on pitches, and naturally, it can be a source of frustration for young pitchers. Christian Scott isn’t one of those pitchers. Few things rattle the 26-year-old right-hander, not even a one-run lead in quite possibly the toughest ballpark for pitchers in the league.

Still, the Mets decided not to chance it when he gave up a run to the Colorado Rockies in the fourth inning Thursday afternoon, cutting their lead in half. Though he got out of the inning with a strikeout and then struck out the next two to start the fifth inning, ultimately, he wasn’t allowed to face the order a third time through.

The Rockies tied the game in the bottom of the sixth with a run off right-hander Huascar Brazobán, and right-hander Craig Kimbrel (0-2) gave up a grand slam to Jake McCarthy before even getting an out in the eighth inning. The Rockies won, 6-2, putting an end to the Mets’ winning streak.

McCarthy teed off on a 94.5-mph fastball, sending it 448 feet into the right-field stands. It just barely stayed fair, confirmed after a review.

“I was hoping it was foul,” Kimbrel said.

So were Mets fans from Colorado to Queens. The home run was automatically reviewed, but there was no definitive angle showing the ball going to the right of the foul pole.

“It was close, especially from our angle,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “I couldn’t tell. Whatever they called on the field, I was pretty sure it was going to stand.”

The Mets (14-23) are short on high-leverage relievers with three long relievers in the bullpen. Kimbrel has been tasked with holding leads or keeping games close late when setup man Luke Weaver isn’t available, and he wasn’t Thursday afternoon. Wednesday night, the Mets used the few high-leverage arms they have to protect leads of eight runs, then six runs, then five.

Tobias Myers, one of those three long relievers, couldn’t make it through the fourth inning, giving up four runs and forcing the Mets to bring in left-hander Brooks Raley. Then they used Weaver, and the left-hander Sean Manaea, who gave up another run, which was enough to prompt the Mets to bring in closer Devin Williams.

“It’s part of it because we had to use a lot of our guys, and obviously, some of them weren’t available today,” Mendoza said. “We got the win yesterday. I’m not gonna blame that on them. Obviously, we had chances today and we couldn’t add on there.”

One day after an offensive outburst in cold weather, the sun came out in Denver, but the Mets’ bats cooled considerably. They scored twice in the second inning against left-hander Jose Quintana, but couldn’t drive in runners on first and third in the third, and left runners on base in the fifth, sixth, seventh and ninth innings. The Mets emptied their bench trying to make something happen offensively to no avail.

In the ninth, they had two on with none out, before right-hander Antonio Senzatela (2-0) retired the next three in order, preserving the win for Colorado (15-23).

The Mets went 1 for 9 with runners in scoring position, leaving seven runners on base.

Quintana, who pitched for the Mets in 2023 and 2024, held them to two earned runs on five hits, walked two and struck out two.

“We expanded [the strike zone],” Mendoza said. “With Q, this is a guy that’s going to nibble, nibble, nibble, and when we were ahead in counts, we chased. He got the ground ball when he needed to.”

Scott was pulled after walking leadoff hitter Eduard Julien on four pitches with two outs in the fifth. He had thrown only 82 pitches, giving up one run on three hits, walking two and striking out six. The Mets often play it conservative with their young starters, especially with one like Scott, who sat out last season to rehab from 2024 Tommy John surgery.

Mendoza confirmed this was the case in Scott’s third major league start of the season.

“Given where he’s been the past couple of weeks, coming back from a whole year after missing [the season], we had a number of pitches in mind, and he pretty much went over that number of pitches,” Mendoza said. “So he did his part; we just couldn’t close it out.”

Scott didn’t protest the decision.

“That’s not for me to decide,” he said. “I feel like, whenever I get the ball, I’m going to go out there and compete. Whatever Mendy thinks is going to give the team the best chance to win the game that day, I’m all for it. Obviously, I would have liked not to have had a four-pitch walk to get the trigger pulled, but yeah, I feel like I did a good job in the zone for the most part.

“I respect the decision for sure.”

With this bullpen, the Mets may want to reconsider their approach.

WASHINGTON D.C. — The Twins’ bullpen has gotten its fair share of heat in recent days — and for good cause. On Wednesday, for example, the bullpen gave up 10 runs as the Twins were rocked by the Nationals.

The bullpen wasn’t without fault on Thursday, but there was plenty more blame to go around in a 7-5 loss to the Washington Nationals in the series finale at Nationals Park.

The Nationals took the lead for good in the seventh inning when rookie John Klein allowed a solo home run to Keibert Ruiz, untying a game that pinch hitter Josh Bell had knotted up a half-inning earlier.

It wasn’t the crispest of days for the Twins, who ran into two outs on the bases — Kody Clemens at home and Austin Martin in between third and home — and saw a ball drop in between Luke Keaschall and Matt Wallner in the fifth, bringing home the Nationals’ fifth run of the day.

And it wasn’t the easiest of starts for Simeon Woods Richardson, who remains winless on the season. The Twins are now 1-7 in games he has started. Woods Richardson was unable to make it through five innings for the fourth time in eight starts this season, chased out during a three-run fifth for the Nationals during which they collected just one hit.

The starter gave up two runs in the third to tie the game after Brooks Lee’s single to left had put them up in the second. And after the Twins scored in the fifth to take the lead, Woods Richardson was unable to hold it again.

The Twins chipped away at the Nationals’ 5-3 lead, using a Ryan Jeffers solo shot and Bell’s tying hit in the seventh, but they never led again after the fifth.

Injury updates

Mick Abel, who has been on the injured list since April 20 with right elbow inflammation, had a cortisone shot after feeling soreness during a simulated bullpen on Saturday, assistant general manager Alex Hassan said.

Hassan said the soreness Abel felt was more in the triceps area. He will be re-evaluated on Tuesday after the Twins return home from their road trip.

Reliever Garrett Acton, dealing with a right shoulder strain, received a second opinion from Dr. Keith Meister. The diagnosis was the same, but the recovery timetable Meister laid out was “probably a little bit longer,” than the Twins originally thought, Hassan said. Acton will not throw for two more weeks and then will be evaluated.

Top prospect Walker Jenkins, out with a Grade-2 AC joint sprain, had a cortisone shot and will be doing physical therapy for the next two weeks, Hassan said.

“We’re going to use the next two weeks to let him rest and rehab, and then begin building him up from there,” Hassan said.

Fellow top outfield prospect Emmanuel Rodriguez was placed on the injured list at Triple-A with a thumb injury, but the Twins still believe it to be short term.

Briefly

The Twins will travel to Cleveland for a three-game set, which kicks off Friday night with Connor Prielipp (1-0, 3.86) on the mound facing off against Guardians lefty Parker Messick (3-1, 2.40 ERA). The game will be aired on Apple TV and will start at 6:15 p.m. CT.

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DENVER — A bullpen that could have used a boost and is in desperate need of a high-leverage arm will have to figure it out without the help of left-hander A.J. Minter. The Mets were set to activate the veteran reliever this weekend in Phoenix during a series against the Arizona Diamondbacks, but he felt something in his surgically repaired hip this week and reported it to the Mets, causing the Mets to end his rehab assignment.

“We pulled him off the rehab today,” manager Carlos Mendoza said Wednesday at Coors Field. “He has left hip discomfort. We’re not too concerned. We’ll probably give him a few days and then he’ll continue to throw.”

The 32-year-old Minter was coming off August 2024 hip labrum and microfracture surgery when the Mets signed him to a free-agent contract ahead of the 2025 season. He managed to start the season on time, but then suffered a lat avulsion in May of last year. Minter underwent surgery to repair the tear, ending his season prematurely.

Coming into spring training, he felt healthy, but the Mets put him on a slow progression to keep him that way. The former Atlanta Braves lefty appeared to be healthy during his minor league assignment as well, going 1-0 with a 1.17 ERA over eight appearances (7 2/3 innings). His velocity, however, never quite returned.

The Mets are unsure if his hip led to decreased velocity.

“I don’t know because there were days where we saw the velo at 92-93, and a couple at 94, but there were some at like 91,” Mendoza said. “I’ll have to talk to him personally.”

With two left-handed starters pitching in long relief roles at the moment, David Peterson and Sean Manaea, and a right-handed long man, Tobias Myers, the bullpen doesn’t function efficiently. Right-hander Huascar Brazobán has once again been relied on heavily early in the season, something that led to poor results from him in the middle of last year. The Mets have gone to Brazobán 15 times this season, including having him open for Peterson on Monday in a win over the Colorado Rockies.

Right-hander Luke Weaver has made 14 appearances, as has left-hander Brooks Raley. Without another high-leverage reliever in the mix, the Mets have asked veteran right-hander Craig Kimbrel to hold leads late in games.

This move resets Minter’s rehab clock. The club would have had to activate him this weekend, but they can shut him down until they think he’s ready to pitch in the minor leagues again. They’ll have 30 days from the time of his first minor league rehab appearance to activate him.

Back in New York, right-hander Kodai Senga (lumbar spine inflammation) played catch Wednesday for the first time since receiving an epidural last week. He’ll start a progression to build back up to pitching in games again, but he doesn’t appear close yet.

Senga is 0-5 with a 9.00 ERA in five starts this season. The Mets have not yet decided on a course of action for Senga once he’s healthy. Keeping him in the minor leagues for a few extra starts after a rehab assignment would require his permission.

“We’ve got to get him to a point where he’s ready to go to compete in games,” Mendoza said. “Then we’ll make that decision.”

May 6—CHICAGO — First, Cincinnati Reds closer Emilio Pagán collapsed after throwing a pitch in the ninth inning due to a hamstring injury that will land him on the injured list. Then, one inning later, Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz botched a routine grounder that allowed the game-winning run to score in extra innings.

The Chicago Cubs beat the Reds, 3-2, on a walk-off single by first baseman Michael Busch. It was a tough loss, but the biggest blow was Pagán's injury.

"It's a tough pill to swallow," Reds catcher Jose Trevino said. "As one of our leaders, as one of our captains, one of the dudes that cares about this team more than a lot of us, he's a big piece of this. I don't know the results yet. I'm not a doctor. Obviously, it didn't look good. It's tough, man. We're going to be resilient about it. EP would want us to be resilient about it."

The Reds got a great start from Andrew Abbott, who pitched 5 2/3 shutout innings. With a crisper fastball, a confident mound presence and a great feel for pitching, Abbott continued his bounce back following a slow start.

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He got some help in the sixth inning as reliever Connor Phillips got out of a bases loaded jam. On the whole, Abbott picked up a Reds' team that needed a boost as it entered the game on a losing streak.

But the Reds' offense couldn't extend its narrow lead, and the margin for error fell out from under them late in the game.

In the eighth inning, Busch hit the game-tying homer off reliever Tony Santillan, who left a fastball over the heart of the plate.

"I'm fine," Santillan said. "I trust the process. The last couple of years, I've told myself to be better at keeping it very neutral. Being in that situation, being the guy the team relies on to get the game to the closer, that comes with the territory."

In the ninth, Pagán was in to keep the score tied. But he only lasted one pitch, and he ended up being carted off.

Pagán dealt with hamstring tightness a few weeks ago. Had he been banged up?

"No," Francona said. "I just went and saw him. He said he hadn't felt it. He said he warmed up fine. I'd never do that. I believe him."

Rookie pitcher Jose Franco, who's mostly a starting pitcher, filled in in the ninth inning and kept the score tied in the biggest outing of his very young career. But in the tenth inning, after two strikeouts killed the Reds' chance to drive the automatic runner in, De La Cruz failed to field a ground ball up the middle. When it got by him, the Cubs scored the game-winning run.

After the game, the Reds' thoughts revolved around Pagán.

"Emilio has done a great job with those guys," Trevino said. "Shaping some of these guys that are going to be able to handle these bigger roles they're going to get. I'd imagine Emilio is going to be right there by them to help them."