CINCINNATI — Michael Busch’s encore to a solid rookie season has seen the Chicago Cubs first baseman evolve into a key piece in the lineup.
Busch entered Saturday owning the second-best OPS+ on the Cubs at 137, trailing only the currently sidelined Kyle Tucker (147). The 27-year-old first baseman reached a notable milestone in Saturday’s 6-3 loss to the Cincinnati Reds, hitting a solo home run to right-center field in the third inning for his 30th of the season.
Busch became the first Cub with a 30-home run season since 2019, when Kris Bryant and Kyle Schwarber both surpassed the mark. Anthony Rizzo was the last Cubs first baseman to reach it when he slugged 32 in 2017.
“It’s pretty cool just to be able to do it,” Busch said. “Any individual accomplishment is cool, but at the end of the day, it helps the team. And I think that’s kind of what we’re here to do.”
In franchise history, Busch is only the fifth first baseman — at least 51% of games played at the position — to hit 30-plus home runs in a season. He joins Rizzo (four times), Derrek Lee (three), Ernie Banks (two) and Fred McGriff (one).
“It’s a testament to him just getting better,” manager Craig Counsell said. “He’s gotten better this year, his second full season in the league, and just getting better. And that’s an exciting development for the Cubs, and he continues to have a wonderful season.”
The loss, coupled with the San Diego Padres’ 7-3 win over the Chicago White Sox, kept the Cubs magic number to clinch the top National League wild-card spot at four.
Cubs option reliever Porter Hodge
Hodge’s season isn’t ending as they reliever would have liked.
The Cubs optioned Hodge to Triple A before Saturday’s game after he allowed two homers and three runs that were the difference in Friday’s loss. Left-hander Jordan Wicks was recalled from Iowa. Although he was optioned to Triple A, Hodge will head to the team’s complex in Mesa, Ariz., to stay ready if he’s needed in the postseason with Iowa’s season ending Sunday.
Despite the numbers, Counsell believes there aren’t many things that are drastically different from the 2024 (1.88 ERA in 43 innings) and 2025 (6.27 in 33 innings) versions of Hodge. There are subtle things that have yielded some drastically different results. Most notably, fewer fastballs in the zone and a lack of command with his slider for a stretch, though there were stretches those issues were minimal.
Ultimately, Hodge, 24, was operating on the edge of a dangerous walk rate last year (11.6%) that went up (12.2%) while his home run rate dramatically spiked by 5%.
“Those two things, it’s going to produce runs for the other team so anytime he’s right on the edge with the strike throwing, it’s about kind of controlling counts, and he’s also going to strike people out, that’s a really good trait that he has,” Counsell said. “When you’re right on the edge, when you’re flirting with that high walk kind of method of pitching it’s just about executing more pitches per appearance, more competitive with pitches per appearance to just keep counts in your favor.”
Reese McGuire delivers
The addition of McGuire turned into a under-the-radar important move for the Cubs.
McGuire has thrived since taking over the backup catcher role when Miguel Amaya suffered an oblique strain and then a sprained left ankle in his first game back from the 60-day injured list last month. McGuire hit his ninth home run of the season Saturday to tie the game in the fifth and came through with an RBI double in the eighth to pull the Cubs within a run.
McGuire’s home run total in 41 games and 134 plate appearances comes after combining to hit nine home runs in his previous five seasons spanning 311 games and 900 PAs.
“Reese has done such a nice job,” Counsell said. “He hasn’t played for two days, still providing a really nice offensive presence in the lineup with very irregular at-bats. That’s so hard to do, and he’s done it exceptionally well. So Reese is a big part of why we’ve been able to get here and he’s had his best big-league season.”
