The Cubs would like to believe they’re getting back to being their old, offensive selves.
They hit the Blue Jays and veteran starter Kevin Gausman with seven runs in the first inning on Friday at Wrigley Field and just kept pouring it on in a 16-2 win.
Carson Kelly provided the big blow in the early outburst — his second career grand slam — off Gausman’s first pitch to him, a down-the-middle slider.
Seiya Suzuki’s double to the right-field corner had already given the North Siders a 2-0 lead. Then Kelly’s drive sailed 428-feet, landed just under the left-field video board and made it 6-0.
Add three more singles and the Cubs tied their season-high with seven runs in a frame.
The rally was enough for the Cubs to win a second consecutive game and for the sixth time in eight. Starter Ben Brown went on cruise control, throwing 51 of 72 pitches for strikes through six innings, walking none. The right-hander allowed just two runs on four hits to win his third consecutive decision
It also was the third time the North Siders scored three runs in inning this season. It also was the second time in two games, following a seven-run second inning in an 8-6 win at Colorado on Wednesday.
“Right from the get-go, guys put pressure on them,” said Kelly, who finished with career-high six RBI. “It was get it to the next guy, continued to get it to the next guy. It was awesome.”
The Cubs finished with 18 hits against the defending AL champs in this one. This is a Cubs squad that piled up runs early in the season during two 10-game winning streaks that bookended a 20-3 run. Gausman issued four walks, along with yielding five hits in the first to set up the Cubs big inning as they sent 12 men to the plate. Gausman said he was wilder than usual — he entered having issued just 16 passes in 87 innings.
“I wish I could point to something,” Gausman said. “The walks more than anything. That’s not normally me.”
Meanwhile, the Cubs were prudent.
We did a good job against him to get that rally moving,” manager Craig Counsell said. “Obviously we got a huge hit from Carson, but we made [Gausman] come in the zone and laid off the splitter down and off the slider away to the righties and that’s important.”
Leadoff man Pete Crow-Armstrong continued to sizzle at the plate. The dynamic center fielder had three singles, an RBI and two walks to extend his career-high on-base streak to 22 games, He’s batting .409 during the stretch.
The free-swinging slugger is up to 27 walks in 76 games this season. He had 29 total in 2025.
“Today was the definition of who we are,” Crow-Armstrong said. “Drawing walks against a guys who doesn’t walk many, mixed with hits and homers . . . or a homer.
“That’s exactly who we are. We put ourselves in really good opportunities today to hit with guys on. Contrary to recently, we made the most of those opportunities really well. Today was just a really good example of who this team is.”
The Cubs accepted a total of 11 walks in this one from seven pitchers, including Blue Jays outfielder Miles Straw, who mopped up for the final four outs. The Cubs added four more runs in the sixth and five in the seventh. Suzuki and Nico Hoerner each had a double among three hits.
The biggest, most emotional knock was a triple from Justin Dean, a 29-year-old who had been called up from Triple-A Iowa before the game and replaced Crow-Armstrong in center in the seventh. The journeyman’s first major-league hit drove in three runs.
Dean sliced a drive off right-handed submariner Tyler Rogers beyond Jesus Sanchez to the right-field corner, then raced to third. Dean appeared in 18 games with the Dodgers last season but had only two at-bats has he was used in pinch-hitting and defensive replacement roles after a mix of 10 seasons in the minors, Mexico and college ball.