Cubs starter Jake Arrieta gave up two runs in the first inning Wednesday night, pushing the Cubs’ major league-leading total to 35 in 27 games, making the Cubs -16 in the first inning this season.
Remember the good ol’ days when the Cubs had the best run differential in baseball history? Through games played on May 3, 2016, the Cubs were +89 in runs scored. After a 5-4 win over Philadelphia Wednesday, they are +16 this season.
That’s the difference of being 19-6 vs. 15-12, I guess.
But with the starters regularly giving up early deficits, the Cubs are hanging on by coming back.