Baez busts out of slump, leads Cubs past Mets

NEW YORK -- The Cubs arrived to Citi Field on Tuesday hoping to wash away the taste that lingered from the weekend. This was not a must-win situation -- especially not for a group that once had its back against the wall in the World Series -- but a victory would be an immediate boost to the team's collective psyche.

Javier Báez broke out of a two-week slump with a three-hit showing and Yu Darvish quieted the Mets over eight impressive innings, leading the Cubs to a 5-2 win. Consider it step one as Chicago tries to move on from being swept at home by the Nationals and chip away at the Cardinals' lead atop the National League Central, which remained at three games.

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"We've been waiting to put it all together and be the best version of ourselves," Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein said. "And I think we all know in this clubhouse that that has to happen really soon for us to get where we want to go. It's that time of year, so it's on us to make that happen."

Here is how Báez and Darvish made it happen against the Mets.

As Javy goes, the Cubs go

Cubs manager Joe Maddon said Báez was simply trying to advance a baserunner with an opposite-field approach in the sixth inning.

With Kris Bryant on second base following a leadoff double, Báez received an 0-1 two-seamer from Mets starter Marcus Stroman, and the shortstop lifted it high over right field. The ball dropped into the protective netting beyond the wall for Báez's Major League-leading 14th opposite-field shot of the season.

"Mentally, situationally, we were a lot better today," Maddon said. "We moved the ball with runners in scoring position. We moved the ball better. We hit a couple homers. I just thought the mental at-bats were better, and that's what we've got to get -- the better mental at-bats."

Entering the night, Báez had hit at a .163 clip with a .452 OPS over his previous 14 games. For the month of August, the shortstop had an 18.8 percent opposite-field rate, per FanGraphs. When Báez is utilizing the whole field -- especially going the other way -- his production climbs. Consider that in April he had his highest opposite-field rate (36.1 percent) and best Weighted Runs Created Plus (137).

Along those same lines, the Cubs' 24.6 percent opposite-field rate in August heading into Tuesday's game was their lowest monthly showing of the season. That coincided with a 99 wRC+ and a .773 OPS for the team overall in August. In April and May, Chicago was going the opposite way more consistently, making better contact across the board and posting an OPS north of .800 in each month.

In Tuesday's victory, Báez used the whole field, connecting for a double to center in the second and later adding an RBI double pulled down the left-field line. He also drew a walk, which Maddon said plays a role in convincing pitchers to pitch in the strike zone against the contact-averse Báez.

"Everybody, when you get your strike zone in order," Maddon said, "when you have an organized strike zone, you will hit better."

Darvish continues to command

Darvish threw four pitches to Todd Frazier to open the fifth inning. Each offering missed the strike zone, leading to the pitcher's first walk in more than a month.

"I was so sad about the walk," Darvish said. "Not good."

Do you know what is good? The fact that the free pass to Frazier came after a remarkable streak of 142 consecutive batters faced with no walks issued by Darvish. That run, which began on July 23, was the longest of its kind in the Majors this season.

After his outing back on June 5, Darvish has the highest walk percentage (14.9) among qualified Major League starters. Entering Tuesday, his 2.3 percent walk rate since then is second only to Mike Leake (1.8 percent) in the big leagues. Since July 1, Darvish has amassed 78 strikeouts compared to just three walks, or an MLB-leading 26:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

"The command of the breaking ball, the fastball was there when he wanted it to be," Maddon said. "The splitter, the curveball, everything that he did. It was kind of unfortunate he walked one hitter."

There are multiple factors behind Darvish's incredible in-season turnaround.

In June, Darvish began featuring what the Cubs refer to internally as a "hard cutter," which fits between his four-seamer and cutter in both velocity and movements. Also in June, the pitcher began a practice sometimes called "shadow pitching." The day before each start, he takes the mound in the bullpen and goes through his delivery. He then mentally cycles through scouting reports of hitters he will face, but without throwing a ball.

During the Cubs' off-day on Monday, Darvish went to Citi Field and did this visualization technique to prepare for the outing against the Mets. One night later, the righty struck out seven and limited New York to one Pete Alonso home run, which set a single-season franchise mark (42 homers) for the Mets.

"My stuff was not sharp enough," Darvish said. "But just the game plan and pitch selection was, for me, perfect."