Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell wouldn’t have imagined his team’s first 25 games of the year going the way they have.
He couldn’t have predicted the winning streak that was extended to nine games Thursday with a 8-7, 10-inning, walk-off victory over the Philadelphia Phillies at Wrigley Field. Counsell wouldn’t have foreseen nine pitchers on his 40-man roster on the injured list, including his closer and then potentially his backup closer, Caleb Thielbar, who exited the win in the ninth inning with “left hamstring tightness.”
“You’d like to script everything really clean and neat, and it’s not going to happen that way,” Counsell said after the win. “That’s OK. I think our guys have understood that and playing like ‘Let’s take what’s in front of us and take that challenge and try to go capture it.’”
Yet, the Cubs (16-9) have weathered the storm and produced their longest winning streak since 2016, when they won 11 in a row from July 31-Aug. 12. Thursday should give the Cubs even more confidence that this nine-game salvo is no fluke.
The offense has withstood slow starts from key bats such as Seiya Suzuki and Michael Busch, but both appear to be heating up as they prepare for a seven-game trip that starts Friday against the two-time-defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers. Busch hit a three-run home run in the third inning against Phillies ace Cristopher Sánchez. It’s just the fifth home run Sánchez has given up to a left-handed hitter in his six-year career that has spanned 109 games. Suzuki had a three-hit game, including a go-ahead, eighth-inning home run, along with two walks.
“Those guys are going to have great years, are a huge part of our offense, and really good teams pick each other up in those moments,” Ian Happ said. “I think we’ve done a really good job of that. You can see in the games where maybe the top of the order doesn’t do what we want to do, then you have a game where Seiya and (Busch) jump on it and drive in a bunch of runs.
“That’s a complete effort, and that’s what makes this really fun. You don’t feel like one guy has to carry the load.”
Edward Cabrera, Thursday’s starter, was strong for the Cubs. The right-hander allowed five runs, three earned, in seven innings with five strikeouts on 83 pitches. It was his longest outing since Aug. 25, 2025, when he went seven innings for the Miami Marlins in a 2-1 win over the Atlanta Braves.
Cabrera avoided trouble for most of his outing until a defensive lapse late led to a crooked number and allowed the Phillies to get back into the game. Cabrera allowed a one-out solo home run to Brandon Marsh, his second of the day, then permitted a single to Edmundo Sosa. He appeared to have gotten the second out of the frame, but Alec Bohm’s double caromed off Suzuki’s glove in right field, leading to a run and extending the inning. A throwing error from Alex Bregman at third base extended the inning and allowed another run to score, but Cabrera wiggled out of the jam with a pair of flyball outs.
“Edward made pitches, and he kept making pitches,” Counsell said. “He pitched wonderfully. We made a defensive mistake that kind of got them back in the game, frankly. Prior to that, the eighth inning was still on the cards, possibly.”
Column: Like a rat scurrying along the field, the Chicago Cubs just keep on streaking
That meant Counsell had to turn to his already taxed bullpen to pick up the final six outs. Left-hander Hoby Milner and right-hander Jacob Webb squandered the lead in the eighth inning, and Thielbar allowed a leadoff home run in the ninth to pinch hitter Adolis García. He exited a batter later after throwing a 93.4-mph fastball and holding his left leg. His status was unclear immediately after the game, and it’s not clear if the Cubs will need to place him on the IL.
“He just felt it, just tightened up on him when he was out there,” Counsell said. “Probably have more information on that (Friday).”
Left-hander Riley Martin entered and pitched a scoreless ninth to keep the game tied, and Javier Assad, who moved to the bullpen after Matthew Boyd’s return to the rotation, tossed a scoreless 10th.
The performance of that duo sums up what the Cubs pitching staff has done. Despite losing Thielbar, closer Daniel Palencia and right-handers Phil Maton and Hunter Harvey — both of whom were expected to be leverage options — the bullpen has a 3.84 ERA this year, the eighth-best mark in baseball.
“I think that’s just kind of what this org is about,” said Dansby Swanson, whose single to right in the 10th scored Happ with the winning run. “I know there’s the cliche of ‘next man up’ kind of thing, but we have a lot of capable people. It’s not saying that we don’t miss having certain guys or wouldn’t love to have a guy like Cade (Horton) back and all those kinds of things, but at the end of the day, life throws you lemons, you make lemonade, kind of deal.”
Andy Martinez is a freelance reporter for the Chicago Tribune.
