The Northsiders opened their domestic slate in Phoenix with a 10-6 victory on Thursday, following a 0-2 opening series in Tokyo last week. Here is what stood out from Thursday’s win.

Justin Steele

1. Steele, a true bulldog on the mound, persevered through five innings, conceding three runs on six hits with two strikeouts and one walk. Despite not having his best stuff, he demonstrated the resilience that has made him such a great pitcher.
2. He only induced four whiffs in 77 pitches during this outing. Steele is not known as an elite swing-and-miss pitcher, ranking in the 35th percentile in whiff rate in 2024. However, he was below that level in inducing whiffs in this start.
3. An alarming factor was the number of hard-hit balls Steele gave up. The average exit velocity when he was pitching was 93.8 miles per hour. For context, Steele’s average for the 2024 season was 86.9 mph. Furthermore, Statcast classifies exit velocities as those over 95 mph or higher. Therefore, the average exit velocity for all balls put in play against Steele yesterday was 1.2 mph, short of the “hard hit” mark.
4. One interesting development was Steele’s use of alternate pitches. He has been predominantly a four-seam fastball and sinker pitcher over the past two seasons, and these two pitches still dominate his pitch mix. However, Steele mixed in 11 sinkers (14% of pitches), six curveballs (8% of pitches), and three changeups (4% of pitches) in his start last night.
5. He gave up hard contact on his sinkers and changeups. However, he threw six curveballs to right-handed batters, inducing four foul balls, one whiff, and no balls in play. Mixing this pitch in against right-handed hitters will do one of two things. It will keep another possible pitch on the hitters’ minds, opening up the door for more effectiveness in his go-to fastball and slider. Or, hitters will continue to key in on his two primary pitches, allowing Steele to steal strikes and spin in curveballs to put himself in advantageous counts.
6. Steele has had two very different starts to open the season. He showcased swing-and-miss stuff in his first start against the Dodgers, but a few bad pitches against a great hitting team led to a 5-run outing. Steele didn’t have the same stuff yesterday, but he was able to find a way to keep his team in the game and earn a win for his efforts.

Lineup

1. Let’s address the obvious ones first. Ian Happ bounced back after striking out to lead off the game. He hit a two-RBI double in his next at-bat and followed that up with a solo home run for the Cubs’ first of 2025. He also mixed in a walk to cap off an excellent performance at the plate.
2. Miguel Amaya was the star of the game with 5 RBI on two doubles. You can say what you want about whether Arizona center fielder Jake McCarthy should have caught his 3-RBI double in the fifth inning. However, Amaya was rewarded for continuing to hit the ball hard, with a 100.5 exit velocity on that double. Amaya has produced at the plate thus far, a welcome sign for Cubs fans after the struggles in the box from the catcher position in the first half of last season.
3. Nico Hoerner added two hits and a walk in his 2025 debut. He demonstrated his ability to hit the ball the other way, with both hits landing in right field. Hoerner is a catalyst for the Cubs’ offense, thanks to his elite contact skills and ability to get on base. Hitting sixth in the lineup is intriguing for a player without a track record for run production. His position in the order will be interesting to watch if he continues to excel in getting on base. Could a move to the leadoff or second spot in the lineup increase the number of run-producing opportunities for the Cubs’ big bats? We’ll have to see if Nico can maintain the success and if that forces Craig Counsell’s hand in moving him up in the lineup card.
4. Matt Shaw went one-for-four with a walk and three runs. He’s still not showing the quality of contact we want for a prospect of his caliber. However, Shaw put together quality plate appearances, showing signs of tracking big-league pitching. He saw more pitches (23) than any other Cubs hitter outside of Ian Happ (26), who did so in one additional plate appearance. It is tough to succeed as a hitter in Major League Baseball. Working counts and taxing pitchers are valuable skills for Shaw while he adjusts to the highest level of baseball.

Bullpen

1. Overall, the Cubs’ bullpen had a good day, surrendering three runs on three hits with two strikeouts over four innings. This solid performance should instill confidence in Cubs fans.
2. Nate Pearson had a rough outing. He issued two walks and a hit-by-pitch to the first three batters he faced. He escaped the bases-loaded no-out jam, giving up two runs on sacrifice flies. His high-octane fastball and slider give him the tools to be a major producer out of the Chicago bullpen. However, he needs to attack hitters with this mix when it is in the zone. He only threw three of ten sliders in the zone last night. The ability to throw this in the zone is imperative to get hitters off his fastball and allow him to throw it out of the zone when he wants to induce chases. He didn’t issue a walk in his first outing, and the only run he gave up was on a questionable non-call due to fan interference. Even if some home runs eventually come, he will be effective if he can limit the self-inflicted damage of allowing baserunners on walks and hit-by-pitches.
3. Porter Hodge continued his dominance out of the bullpen last night. He pitched a scoreless inning, racking up two strikeouts on sweepers. Hodge has shined in everything from pitch metrics, which measure the effectiveness of his pitch mix, to expected statistics, which gauge the quality of contact and the likelihood of expected results. More importantly, he has dazzled on the mound since coming to the big leagues last year. The Cubs had issues with a mix of Adbert Alzolay, Mark Leiter Jr., and Hector Neris blowing late leads in 2024. Hodge and seasoned closer Ryan Pressly represent a significant upgrade in this department, which should help the 2025 Cubs hold leads. The solidified back end of the bullpen will be crucial, with the division and Wild Card races expected to be close this year.