The Chicago Cubs could not build on the momentum of their series-opening win on Monday. On Tuesday, they lost to the Milwaukee Brewers 1-0 after going 0-5 with runners in scoring position. The Cubs left ten runners stranded on base. They were a hit away from opening the game up. Instead, Michael Busch, their best offensive weapon, was shown the bench.
Jameson Taillon pitched brilliantly in what may have been his final start as a Cub. He pitched 7.1 innings of one-run baseball, surrendering just four hits. His earned run average is now down to 2.96 on the year. However, because the offense could not help him, Taillon suffered his fifth loss of the season. It is highly speculated that Taillon will be moved at the trade deadline, with the Cubs rapidly losing ground on a playoff spot.
In the eighth inning, Michael Busch was due up to face left-handed pitcher Jared Koenig with a runner on first and nobody out. However, the call was made to have Patrick Wisdom pinch-hit for Busch. Wisdom, batting .194 on the year, flew out to the center field warning track.
After the game, manager Craig Counsell was asked about the decision to pinch-hit Wisdom for Busch with a scoring chance in the eighth inning. He said Koenig is a tough lefty and felt that Wisdom, Seiya Suzuki, and David Bote (pinch-hitter for Mike Tauchman) all swung at the correct pitches and had good at-bats. They just missed doing damage.
Anyone with internet access can look up players’ splits in any given situation. So I went to MLB’s website and looked up Michael Busch and his stats. After a couple of clicks, I found his splits against left-handed pitching. The results might have changed Counsell’s thinking.
During 2024, Michael Busch has had 48 at-bats against left-handed pitching. To date, he has a batting average of .318 with a wOBA of .386. He has six extra-base hits, including one home run. His OPS against lefties is .898.
According to Baseball Savant, Busch is also batting .375 with an OPS of 1.047 in eighth-inning at-bats in 2024. His OPS only gets higher as the game goes later, too. He is one of baseball’s best hitters in late-game situations this season.
In the broadcast booth, Jon “Boog” Sciambi, Jim Deshaies, and Jon Lester were talking about how hard of a job it is to exclusively pinch-hit in baseball. Patrick Wisdom and David Bote sometimes go days or weeks without seeing in-game action. Some situations demand a pinch-hitter for obvious reasons. However, this was not one of those times.
Craig Counsell made an aggressive decision that was about ten feet away from working out perfectly. Maybe that is some of the bad luck they’ve been talking about having this season at the plate. Or, perhaps it was a wrong decision, and they should have let the team’s best offensive player have a chance to win a ballgame.
To quote Julia Roberts as Vivian Ward in the 1990 classic Pretty Woman, “Big mistake. Huge.”
