The Rundown: Cubs End 3-Game Losing Streak, Steele Suffers Setback, Happy Lee Elia Day

“Gloves of stainless steal, bats carved out of brick, will knock you down and push you up and give your ass a kick.” — When Push Comes to Shove by The Grateful Dead

The Good News/Bad News Express rolled into San Diego yesterday, dropping several newsworthy items for Cubs fans who tend to miss a lot of West Coast stuff. First and foremost, Chicago snapped its modest three-game losing streak by pasting the Padres 8-3. I’m almost tempted to run to Harry Schmerler Ford or Danley Custom Garage Builders to spend my income tax refund, if I ever get it.

Edward Cabrera struck out seven Padres last night en route to his third win of the season, and more importantly, he didn’t issue a single base on balls. Hoby Milner and Ryan Rolison finished it with 3.1 innings of perfect relief.

The icing on the cake was a home run by Pete Crow-Armstrong, his second of the season, predicted just seconds earlier by announcer Rick Sutcliffe. The 400-foot blast to centerfield put the game out of reach and earned Craig Counsell his 900th career win. The 18-12 Cubs still trail the Reds by 1.5 games in the NL Central. All good stuff.

That said, Gray May and its beastly brother June Doom could be seen peeking through the nooks and crevices of Chicago’s dugout. The club announced that Riley Martin will miss at least eight weeks with a flexor strain, the same injury that will sideline Justin Steele for, optimistically, the same amount of time. I’ve lost track of the number of pitching staff injuries, and I’m curious to know what’s going on with the team’s trainers and medical staff.

Because we live in a conspiratorial world, I should mention that some of the diehard Brewers fans up here are calling the injuries fake, saying that Counsell is saving everybody for the stretch run. Even the most casual observer understands that saving pitchers for the postseason doesn’t do diddly-doo if you don’t, you know, make the playoffs. And if the pitching injuries aren’t a big enough pain in the ass, Dansby Swanson left yesterday’s game with an aggravation of the gluteus maximus, or medius, and minimus, as it may be. Hopefully, it’s no catASStrophe, leaving Swanson nothing more than the butt of jokes by his coaches and teammates. I’m cracking up just thinking about it. See what I did there?

Nevertheless, it’s a booty-ful day for a ballgame, so bottoms up to all the day drinkers who can escape work for today’s 3:10pm CT start. My seat of happiness is the recliner in the next room where I will watch Chicago try to take the series, no ifs, ands, or “butts” about it. How old am I again?

Cubs News & Notes

• Counsell said he expects Steele to return shortly after the All-Star break. The Cubs continually sugarcoat injury reports and expectations, so call me somewhat skeptical.
• The Cubs claimed left-handed pitcher Doug Nikhazy off waivers to replace Martin. His last name sounds like a craft beer, so he’s probably a decent reliever. Then again, Nikhazy is almost 27 and has six major league innings on his résumé. Jed leaves no stone unturned, apparently. Why do I think Anthony Rizzo would be a better option?
• Moisés Ballesteros is vying to become Chicago’s first Rookie of the Year since Kris Bryant.
• Alex Bregman reportedly saved some Red Sox coaches from getting fired last season. Craig Breslow cleaned house in Boston over the weekend.
• Swanson said he was feeling cheeky good after last night’s game.
• Perhaps the Cubs can turn to Seiya Suzuki if they must replace Swanson. He’s got the shortstop’s batting stance down.
• MLB said the umpires may have made a mistake on a fair ball call in Monday night’s game.

Ball Four

Counsell had to bring Malört with him, right? Not sure there is a market for that in San Diego, especially with Tijuana and its tequilas a stone’s throw away.

Craig Counsell had Malort to celebrate 900 career wins. #Cubs

— Taylor McGregor (@Taylor_McGregor) April 29, 2026

Central Intelligence

• Cincinnati (19-10): An ABS challenge in last night’s Reds-Rockies game turned into free pizza for all who attended the game. Catcher Tyler Stephenson is your hero.
• Chicago (18-12): Happy Lee Elia Day to all who still celebrate Chicago’s former outspoken manager. The final tally? Elia’s 164-second rant in 1983 contains 38 F-bombs. That’s one every four seconds. Yikes.
• St. Louis (16-13): Randal Grichuk could find a home playing for the Cardinals again after the Yankees designated the outfielder for assignment.
• Milwaukee (15-13): Brewers stars Jackson Chourio and Andrew Vaughn have started their rehab assignments, with both expected to return to Milwaukee on May 4.
• Pittsburgh (16-14): Paul Skenes is the prohibitive favorite to win this year’s NL Cy Young award.

How About That!

Juan Soto asked Nationals’ catcher Drew Millas for swing advice in a late-game at-bat, and followed it.

The Red Sox placed ace Garrett Crochet on the injury list with shoulder inflammation. Crochet said he’s “pretty confident” he’ll be back after a minimum stay on the injured list.

MLB will choose from 10 finalists when it expands to 32 teams, though no official date has been announced. Montreal and Oakland are the only cities on the list that previously hosted a team. Nashville and Salt Lake City are considered strong favorites.

Lou Piniella said he wishes he hadn’t been so animated when it came to on-field discussions with umpires.

Apropos of Nothing

We have to take the kids shopping for school clothes today, and I’m looking forward to it. I can’t remember the last time I went to the mall, and they desperately need shoes, too. I also have no idea what stylish clothing for kids costs these days, so I’m hoping my credit cards won’t melt before the sun sets. Regardless, it’s going to be a fun day.

The two cuties asked me why I watched baseball so much because “it’s so boring” and I “always fall asleep” during the games. I asked them what their favorite sport is. Are you ready for this? They said softball and kickball. Oh, for the love of Mike.

Three from the Bill Chuck Files

1. Cincinnati is 12-1 when they score first this season. Keep that in your back pocket for next week’s Cubs-Reds series at Wrigley Field.
2. Conversely, the Red Sox and Angels are both 1-12 when surrendering the first run of the game.
3. Kyle Tucker hit a walk-off single the other night, his first with the Dodgers and first for any team since 2023.

Two from the Mike Canter Files

1. Counsell is the 76th manager to win 900 or more games. The last manager to reach that milestone was A.J. Hinch in 2025. Bruce Bochy is the only manager to win 900 or more games with two different teams.
2. Counsell is 900-786 in 12 seasons, a .534 winning percentage. He’s 193-161 (.545) since joining the Cubs, good for ninth place in team history. Dave Roberts is the active leader in win percentage (.622).

Extra Innings

I don’t know what’s going on here, but continue by all means if wins are the result.

Pregame tradition between Nicky Lopez and Dansby Swanson.. it gives you wings 🗣️🗣️ pic.twitter.com/lhnR3tIrw5

— Taylor McGregor (@Taylor_McGregor) April 28, 2026

They Said It

• “We’ll see how [Dansby] feels tomorrow, but I’m optimistic that it’s not something serious.” – Counsell
• “For Justin, it’s just frustrating. During the course of [rehab], there are always good days and bad days that you navigate through. But when you start getting back to where Justin was — and getting fairly close to getting back into competition — you think you’ve kind of crossed some of those [checkpoints]. Unfortunately, we’ve just hit another speed bump here, and it’s going to take longer.” – Counsell
• “When you have a lot of injuries, of course, we try to examine everything we’re doing. I think that you should. When you’re having success, struggles, the same injury, yeah, absolutely you try to make sure your processes are good and you’re not doing anything that would — I don’t want to say create injuries — but make players more exposed to injuries. I don’t have an answer.” – Counsell

Wednesday Walk-Up Song

This song was voted the top rock ballad of all-time, but was written with Stevie Nicks in mind. She declined to collaborate, and serendipity delivered a monster hit for Prince.