Busch splashes home run as Cubs beat Giants

Michael Busch hit a three-run homer that landed in McCovey Cove, and Javier Assad logged another scoreless outing as the Cubs beat the Giants 5-1. It was the first time Chicago won back-to-back games since late May.

SAN FRANCISCO — It wasn’t even a Saturday night, but Michael Busch’s home run was already in vacation mode.

His three-run blast for the Cubs took a bath anyway, splashing down in McCovey Cove during Chicago’s 5-1 win over the Giants on Friday. Freed from the video-boarded-up confines of Wrigley Field, Busch’s ball had nothing standing in the way once it cleared the distance.

Busch said after the game that he tried to pull off the moment in batting practice but couldn’t. “I tried to do it a couple times in BP and couldn’t really,” he said. “But I’ll take the game over batting practice, for sure.”

It marked a rare kind of home run in that waterfront yard. Only five North Side batters have ever sent the ball into McCovey Cove: Joc Pedersen in 2021, Robel Garcia in 2019, Ben Zobrist in 2016, Corey Patterson in 2004 — and Busch, Friday night.

The homer was the headline, but it didn’t come alone. The Cubs won consecutive games for the first time since they snapped their 10-game losing streak with back-to-back victories in late May. Against the Giants. Chicago brought together timely hitting. great starting pitching. and a handful of defensive plays that have been hard to find consistently during a rough stretch.

That stretch has been steep. After Wednesday’s loss to the Rockies, the Cubs sat at 7-22 in a 29-game stretch. What changed over the past two days wasn’t just one swing or one pitch; it was the feel of the whole game coming together again. the way Chicago looked earlier in the season’s first month and a half.

Javier Assad was the foundation on Friday. He turned in a second straight scoreless outing and did it as a fill-in starter amid a rash of injuries in the rotation. After going 6 1/3 run-free innings in his previous start while relieving the injured Jameson Taillon, Assad kept the Giants quiet again.

Friday’s line was six scoreless innings, allowing just three hits and a walk while striking out five. Manager Craig Counsell praised him for delivering exactly when the Cubs needed it.

“He pitched great,” Counsell said. “A real boost. We’ve talked about guys getting opportunities, and certainly Javy, in a time when we really needed it, has delivered a couple big performances.”

Assad’s run of steadiness has been striking. Since the start of May, he’s allowed one run, posting a 0.47 ERA across his last five appearances.

Chicago knows it can’t get carried away after two games. The team had moments on its most recent home stand that felt like they might flip the script. only for them to turn into mirages. Still. these last two days looked like the Cubs’ best version of themselves. the kind of consistency that matches the confidence they’ve insisted they’ve carried underneath the slump.

Busch, for his part, didn’t just make the splash. He also made an impact in the field. He started and finished an inning-ending double play, and at first base he dove to clip Luis Arraez on the helmet to nab a replay-assisted out.

Defense has stayed a constant even when the results didn’t. Friday was different because the Cubs managed to stack their usual strengths with pitching that held firm and hitting that came at the right moments.

When Chicago wins all three phases in the same night — as it did in the 5-1 decision — it’s hard not to remember what the franchise says it wants. For now, at least, the Cubs have something they haven’t had much of: real momentum back-to-back.

Cubs vs Giants Michael Busch McCovey Cove Javier Assad Craig Counsell Luis Arraez Chicago Cubs baseball news