Bases Covered is a daily roundup of the most interesting stories in baseball.
Can the Cubs be any more fearsome?
The Cubs defeated the Pirates 6–2 on Wednesday to earn the series sweep. Chicago is sitting pretty atop the National League Central with a record of 20-6 (the Pirates are second, six games back).
But with the Cubs having such a hot start to the season, are they likely to fade as the year stretches on? Here’s why they’ve arguably been a bit unlucky so far—and why we can expect that “their offence will be even more potent.”
Harper gets a homer
Bryce Harper has been in a little slump of late, but he came through with a home run during his team’s 13–2 thumping of Kansas City on Wednesday. Teammate Daniel Murphy, meanwhile, was a triple short of hitting for the cycle.
For Washington starter Stephen Strasburg, his team’s hot bats were appreciated—though, somewhat oddly, that offensive support didn’t necessarily make his job easier.
“This might sound strange, but it made it a little bit more difficult because I feel like when you get that much run support early on, it’s easy to let up,” he said. “But you’ve got to kind of trick your mind and keep thinking that it’s a 0-0 ballgame. Did I appreciate it? Absolutely. They went out there and swung the bats. I’m glad I was able to get through that one inning and keep fighting and catching a bit of a groove.”
509
Boston slugger David Ortiz hit his 509th career home run on Wednesday. It was the sixth homer of the season for the 40-year-old, and, impressively, he hit it off a left-handed pitcher.
The Red Sox defeated the White Sox, 5–2.
Timmy!
Tim Lincecum will hold his long-awaited showcase on Friday. The 31-year-old known as “The Freak” spoke with Yahoo’s Jeff Passan on Wednesday about how he’s managed to maintain his privacy while working on his comeback, and why he’s willing to land with a team other than the Giants.
“They already have six starters,” he said of San Francisco, the only MLB team he’s ever played for. “I’ve got to just look out for me, and if they’re the No. 1 piece in the puzzle when it comes down to decision time, I’ll be excited to go back.”
On top in the AL West
The Mariners and A’s played a wild game on Wednesday, passing the lead back and forth. Seattle’s Felix Hernandez didn’t have a great game—which is becoming something of a trend for him this season—but his team rallied, and the Mariners eventually came out on top to earn the win, 9–8, and the series sweep—the team’s first of the year.
Nelson Cruz hit a monster home run, while Dae-Ho Lee contributed two dingers of his own.
“Those are the kind of wins that stick with you for a while,” said manager Scott Servais, whose team sits first in the division. “The guys believed the whole time when we got down in the dugout. There was never any doubt that we would find a way to get back in it.”