Here are 10 fun Cubs games to watch right now
CHICAGO -- While the 2020 season is on hold, fans still have plenty of opportunities to satisfy their baseball cravings.
Every single MLB game from the past two seasons is available, for free, on MLB.TV. That equates to more than 4,800 games, including regular season and postseason, from 2018 and ‘19.
This dive into the archives is free to all users, on any supported device, with zero blackout restrictions. Simply visit MLB.TV for details or download the MLB App on your favorite device.
There is no shortage of viewing options, whether you prefer to relive the ups and downs of your favorite team’s season or discover something you may have missed the first time around. There are fantastic individual performances, dramatic October classics and much more. There's also a large collection of classic games available on YouTube.
To help fans find a place to start amid those two seasons worth of baseball, we’ve curated the top 10 games for each of the 30 teams. Here is a recommended viewing guide for the Cubs:
Aug. 12, 2018: Bote’s ultimate slam
It was every kid’s backyard baseball fantasy: bases loaded, two outs, down by three runs and down to the last strike. David Bote lived it for the Cubs on this night, delivering a pinch-hit, walk-off grand slam against Washington that will forever live in Cubs lore.
April 14, 2018: Comeback in the cold
The announced temperature at first pitch was 38 degrees. The strong wind and wet conditions made it feel worse. The Cubs were down 10-2 in the fourth inning, but then embarked on one of the wildest comeback wins in team history. Chicago’s nine-run ninth featured 13 batters, five walks, two hit batsmen, one wild pitch and a few key hits mixed in to the freezing crowd’s delight.
June 6, 2018: J-Hey slams Phillies
While Jason Heyward's grand slam was not of the “ultimate” variety, it was nonetheless a memorable jolt for the North Siders. Down 5-3 in the ninth, and following a second out recorded in a play at home, Heyward launched a slam to deliver a walk-off win.
July 26, 2018: Back-to-back heroics
In the ninth inning against the D-backs, Bote and Anthony Rizzo belted back-to-back home runs to win in walk-off fashion. The three-run ninth completed a six-run push to pull off a 7-6 victory at Wrigley Field.
May 3, 2019: The Professor’s masterpiece
Kyle Hendricks gave the rival Cardinals a lesson in precision at Wrigley Field, where the right-hander needed only 81 pitches to slice through St. Louis’ order en route to a shutout. It marked the first time a Cubs pitcher had thrown a Maddux (fewer than 100 pitches in a shutout) since Carlos Zambrano achieved the feat in 2009.
May 4, 2019: Davis crashes Cards
Catcher Taylor Davis, a 49th-round Draft pick who has spent the bulk of his career in the Minor Leagues, earned a rare start as an injury replacement against the Cardinals. Davis then electrified the North Side crowd with a game-tying grand slam -- the first homer of his MLB career -- to help fuel a 6-5 win.
May 17, 2019: Bryant’s homer trifecta
Slugger Kris Bryant drilled a home run in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings against the Nationals, tying an MLB record for blasts in consecutive frames. His three shots powered a late 11-run outburst by the Cubs that set up a 14-6 romp on the road over the eventual World Series champion Nationals.
June 23, 2019: Javy rocks Wrigley
Following a duel between Jacob deGrom and Cole Hamels, the Cubs were trailing, 3-2, in the eighth inning against the Mets. That set the stage for Javier Báez's 100th career homer -- a go-ahead, three-run blast that shook the old ballpark. Baez’s emphatic curtain call may have been as memorable as the opposite-field shot itself.
June 2, 2018: Queens-sized win
In the midst of a season in which he won the first of two consecutive National League Cy Young Awards, Jacob deGrom piled up 13 strikeouts in a seven-inning gem against the Cubs. Luke Farrell saved Chicago’s bullpen with five brilliant innings, and then Javier Báez punctuated a six-run flurry in the 14th with a two-run homer that paved the way to a road win.
Sept. 13, 2019: Hoerner’s homecoming
From Sept. 13-15, the Cubs pounded out 47 runs on 49 hits, including 14 homers, in a sweep of the Pirates. The first game happened to be the Wrigley Field debut of rookie Nico Hoerner, who belted a home run on the first pitch of his first career at-bat in his home ballpark. That capped off a five-run first inning in a wild 17-8 win.
And here are some other games from around the league you might like:
Aug. 17, 2019: Brewers 15, Nationals 14
Christian Yelich homered -- No. 40 -- as part of a three-homer, four-run ninth inning for a 12-11 Brewers lead, only to see the Nationals come back to tie it up against Josh Hader. Yelich homered again in the 13th for a 13-12 lead, only to see the Nats come back again. Finally, in the 14th, the Brewers scored twice and this time held off another Nats surge.
June 27, 2019: Dodgers 12, Rockies 8
The Dodgers overcame a shaky Coors Field start from Walker Buehler (seven runs) with a six-homer onslaught -- two by Max Muncy -- for their 12th consecutive win over Colorado.
July 25, 2019: Orioles 10, Angels 8
The Orioles and Angels had been engaged in a marathon, 6-hour, 16-inning, back-and-forth affair when things went from simply weird to historic. That's because of who closed the game -- outfielder Stevie Wilkerson, who recorded a 1-2-3 bottom of the 16th throwing nothing but mid-50 mph floaters to record the first save by a position player in MLB history.
July 12, 2019: Rangers 9, Astros 8
The Rangers scored five runs in the last three innings to erase the Astros' 8-4 lead. The Rangers hit five home runs in this game, including three off Astros starter Gerrit Cole.
June 23, 2019: Pirates 11, Padres 10
Former manager Clint Hurdle called this “one of the best wins that I’ve watched in nine years here,” and it was a wild one. Down three in the ninth against a closer who hadn’t blown a save all season, the Pirates rallied to force extra innings. Down three again in the 11th, they battled back -- and then all of a sudden rookie shortstop Kevin Newman was at the plate, working a walk-off walk to cap the Bucs’ fourth straight win.