Cubs bring the boom as key bats near return

CHICAGO -- Prior to Saturday’s game against the Brewers, Cubs manager Craig Counsell acknowledged that the lineup was in a lull, while awaiting the respective comebacks of outfielders Seiya Suzuki and Cody Bellinger.

“Chris Morel is probably the exception,” Counsell said.

Morel then backed his manager’s assessment, launching a homer in his third consecutive game to help the Cubs pull off a 6-5 victory at Wrigley Field. Morel was not alone, though. Nico Hoerner and Patrick Wisdom also went deep, backing a strong start by Jameson Taillon and helping Chicago hold off a late rally by its rivals to the north.

In the hours leading up to Saturday’s win, both Suzuki (right oblique) and Bellinger (two fractured ribs) continued to ramp up their baseball activities. Counsell noted that both outfielders have a realistic chance to rejoin the Major League group “next week,” barring any setbacks. The manager estimated that Bellinger might be slightly ahead of Suzuki in their timetables.

The rest of the Cubs’ offense is doing what it can to hold the line in the interim.

“Getting Seiya and Belli back would just take that pressure off everyone,” said Taillon, who logged six scoreless innings and improved to 3-0 with a 1.13 ERA since returning from the IL. “They can do it any swing, any game. But Morel’s heating up again. He can do the same thing when he’s on. And Wizzy’s obviously got some elite pop.

“It’s just find a way to score runs and weather the storm until they get back. Just keep finding ways whether it’s offense, defense, pitching. Whatever it takes.”

Entering Saturday, the Cubs had a .214/.281/.315 slash line in the 10 games played with both Suzuki and Bellinger on the IL. The North Siders had a 73 wRC+ in that stretch, meaning the team performed 27% below MLB average. Before April 24, when Bellinger was shelved, the offense slashed .245/.328/.414 with a 113 wRC+.

Bellinger’s schedule has been based around recovery and tolerance since he first started resuming baseball-related drills in Boston last week. Counsell is optimistic about the center fielder’s chances of returning to the Cubs without first going out on a Minor League rehab assignment.

Suzuki has also been steadily building up his volume, but still has some baserunning boxes to check, per Counsell. The right fielder tweaked his side while running to first base on April 14 in Seattle. At this stage, the manager said Suzuki might head off on a brief Minor League rehab assignment before being activated.

“They’re both largely in the same spot,” Counsell said. “With Belli, we’re just trying to progress, progress, progress. What’s the pain of it? If it’s nothing, just progress more. [They’re] doing well. We’re not there yet with either of them. We’ve just got to keep taking some more steps, but we are getting close. I think next week is definitely realistic for both of them.”

Until then, the Cubs will hope for more days like Saturday.

Hoerner led off the first inning with a blast against Brewers starter Tobias Myers. In the third, Morel crushed an 0-2 offering from Myers deep to left-center for a two-run shot, giving the third baseman a team-leading seven homers on the year. Morel now has four homers in his past six games.

“Our offense has been a little quiet lately, obviously,” Counsell said. “Christopher’s in a [great] stretch right now. The homers, I think for most guys, come in bunches. And he’s had a good week.”

Before the game, the Cubs optioned lefty-swinging Matt Mervis to Triple-A Iowa after his struggles (.115 average in nine games) to lock down the designated-hitter duties. That opened more of an opportunity for Wisdom, who slugged his first homer of the year in the sixth. Then in the eighth, he sent an elevated heater from lefty Bryan Hudson to center for an RBI single that gave Chicago its sixth and decisive run.

“The guy threw him the pitch that he wanted to throw, a high fastball,” Counsell said. “And Patrick shortened up and put the ball in play. Credit to him. Obviously, the homer was a great swing, but that turned out to be a huge run and a really, really good at-bat.”

That is what the Cubs need until Bellinger and Suzuki return to the heart of the order.

“That’s two impact bats coming back -- two impact players,” Wisdom said. “We’re always pulling for them to get back in the timetable that they need. We don’t want them to rush so we can have them for the long haul.”