Cubs' Michael Busch: Tallies three hits, homer Saturday
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Busch went 3-for-5 with a double, a solo home run and an additional run scored in Saturday's 8-6 loss to the Cardinals.
A day after going deep three times for the first time in his career, Busch tacked on another long ball as he continued his strong season. The slugging infielder is now up to 18 home runs, 11 of which have come in 29 games since the beginning of June, and he's closing in on his career high of 21 long balls. Busch also has an impressive .293 batting average and .939 OPS, and he remains an offensive threat against right-handed pitching.
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Cubs' Michael Busch: Three-homer day in win
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Busch went 4-for-4 with three home runs and five RBI in Friday's 11-3 win over the Cardinals.
Busch went deep in the second, third and seventh innings, marking his first career three-homer game and the second multi-homer effort of his young career. The first baseman finished June with a stellar .309/.385/.617 slash line and has opened July with eight hits over four games. For the season, he's slashing .288/.373/.546 with 17 home runs, 55 RBI, 41 runs scored and four steals across 308 plate appearances.
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Cubs' Michael Busch: On bench Friday
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Busch is out of the lineup for Friday's game against the Astros.
Busch will cede to Justin Turner against left-hander Brandon Walter. In his last nine games, Busch is 12-for-34 (.353) with a pair of home runs.
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Cubs' Michael Busch: Homers in win
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Busch went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and an additional run scored in Thursday's 3-0 win over the Cardinals.
Busch's second-inning homer stood as the game winner, and he later came around to score again in the fourth. The 27-year-old has enjoyed a stellar June, going deep six times with 16 RBI and a .994 OPS across 21 games. On the season, he's slashing .273/.363/.506 with 13 home runs, 46 RBI, 36 runs scored and four steals over 284 plate appearances.
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Cubs' Michael Busch: Resting against lefty
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Busch is not in the lineup for Monday's game against the Cardinals.
St. Louis is starting lefty Matthew Liberatore, so Busch will head to the bench while Justin Turner starts at first base in his stead. Busch has been good this season with an .869 OPS, 12 home runs and 44 RBI through 72 games, but he's gone just 4-for-33 with 10 strikeouts against southpaws, so he will likely continue to be a platoon player who plays primarily against righties.
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Cubs' Michael Busch: Belts three-run bomb
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Busch went 1-for-3 with a three-run home run, a walk and an additional run scored in Saturday's win over the Mariners.
Busch deposited a ball into the Wrigley Field bleachers during the third inning. The first baseman is in the midst of a breakout season, slashing .272/.367/.509 with 28 extra-base hits and 44 RBI through 71 games.
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Cubs' Michael Busch: Doubles, scores in win
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Busch went 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored in Sunday's 3-2, 10-inning win over the Pirates.
Busch continued his steady, impressive season, as he's now batting .295 this month and .265 for the year. The infielder also has a solid .861 OPS, and he's been a mainstay near the middle of Chicago's lineup. Busch remains vulnerable against left-handed pitching, but he has plenty of fantasy value as a dangerous run producer against righties.
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Cubs' Michael Busch: Getting day off
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Busch is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Phillies.
Busch went 3-for-17 with a pair of home runs while starting in each of the Cubs' last four games, but as per usual, he'll take a seat with a lefty (Jesus Luzardo) starting for the opposition. Justin Turner will spell Busch at first base.
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Cubs' Michael Busch: Swats solo blast
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Busch went 1-for-5 with a solo home run in Tuesday's win over the Phillies.
Busch took Mick Abel deep to center in the fourth to push the Cubs in front 3-2. Busch now has four homers in nine games during June and has at least a hit in 11 of his last 12 games, slashing .325/.400/.725 over that span. Despite being hot at the plate, Busch has not received many plate appearances versus left-handed pitching and may find himself on the bench the next two days with the Cubs set to face Jesus Luzardo and Andrew Heaney.
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Cubs' Michael Busch: Getting breather Friday
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Busch is out of the lineup for Friday's game against the Tigers.
Busch will get the night off Friday against ace lefty Tarik Skubal, after making four straight starts at first base. The 27-year-old Busch is riding a seven-game hit streak, and he's 10-for-23 with two homers and a 4:3 BB:K during that stretch. Justin Turner will bat eighth and play first base Friday.
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Cubs' Michael Busch: Sitting against southpaw
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Busch is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Reds.
Busch will sit for the third time in five games, with all of his absences coming against left-handed pitching. The Cubs appear to be viewing Busch as a pure platoon player, as he's logged just 25 plate appearances against lefties all season and is slashing just .143/.280/.190 in those matchups. Justin Turner will replace Busch at first base.
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Cubs' Michael Busch: Goes deep in loss
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Busch went 2-for-4 with a double and a solo home run in Friday's 7-2 loss to the Mets.
Chicago's offense came on solo home runs by Kyle Tucker and Busch, with the latter recording his seventh long ball of the season and second in May. Busch has mostly struggled this month with a .192 batting average and 27.6 percent strikeout rate across eight games. Overall, he has a more respectable .258 average to go along with a strong .860 OPS.
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Cubs' Michael Busch: Getting afternoon off
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Busch is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Giants.
Justin Turner will pick up the start at first base in place of Busch as the Cubs go with an extra right-handed bat to counter Giants southpaw Robbie Ray. Busch has logged 19 plate appearances against lefties this season and is batting .188 with one extra-base hit (a double) in those matchups.
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Cubs' Michael Busch: Lifts grand slam Friday
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Busch went 1-for-5 with a grand slam in Friday's 10-0 win over the Brewers.
Busch had the biggest hit of the game, a second-inning grand slam that put the Cubs on cruise control. This was his sixth homer of the season and his first since April 19 versus the Diamondbacks. He's gone just 5-for-29 (.172) over his last eight games, though that cool-off was expected after a blistering run over the middle of April. Overall, Busch is batting .278 with an .894 OPS, 19 RBI, 16 runs scored, two stolen bases, seven doubles and a triple over 31 contests.
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Cubs' Michael Busch: Goes deep in win
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Busch went 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI in Saturday's 6-2 win over the Diamondbacks.
Busch singled in a run in the bottom of the first inning, then added a solo home run an inning later, giving him five long balls for the season. The infielder has an impressive .316/.381/.618 slash line through 22 games, and while he often sits against southpaws, Busch has been a force against righties. He currently has a 1.020 OPS against opposite-handed pitching this year, as well as all of his home runs and RBI.
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Cubs' Michael Busch: Explosive against former club
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Busch went 4-for-6 with a home run, two doubles, four total runs and three total RBI in a 16-0 rout of the Dodgers on Saturday.
As impressive as Busch's stat line was, it could have been even bigger had Dodgers outfielder Andy Pages not robbed him of what looked to be a grand slam in the third inning. Even with that bad luck, Busch put up an impressive display against the team that selected him in the first round of the 2019 First-Year Player Draft, collecting three extra-base hits, including his second long ball of the campaign. Busch's big performance lifted his season slash line to .300/.386/.540, and he's driven in nine runs through 16 games.
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Cubs' Michael Busch: Sitting versus lefty
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Busch is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Rangers.
Southpaw Patrick Corbin will take the mound Tuesday for Texas, so Busch will head to the bench after going 2-for-3 with a double, a triple, an RBI and a run scored in Monday's series opener. Justin Turner will start at first base and bat cleanup in his place.
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Cubs' Michael Busch: Taking seat versus southpaw
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Busch is out of the lineup for Wednesday contest against the Athletics.
Southpaw Jeffrey Springs is on the bump for the Athletics, so the left-handed-hitting Busch will begin the series finale on the bench. Justin Turner will start at first base and bat cleanup for the Cubs.
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Cubs' Michael Busch: Plates four in rout
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Busch went 3-for-6 with a home run, two total runs and four total RBI against the Athletics in an 18-3 win Monday.
Busch was one of four Chicago players with three or more hits in the offensive onslaught. He hit the first homer of the game for Chicago, knocking a two-run shot to right-center field in the first inning. The long ball was the first extra-base hit of the season for Busch, who had gone just 4-for-18 at the plate prior to Monday's big performance.
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Cubs' Michael Busch: Sitting against southpaw
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Busch is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Diamondbacks.
The lefty-hitting Busch will get his first game off of the season while the Diamondbacks send a southpaw (Eduardo Rodriguez) to the hill for a day game after a night game. Justin Turner will fill in for Busch at first base.
