My Two Cents: Home Run Streak Ends For Cubs' Michael Busch, But Optimism Remains

New Chicago Cubs first baseman Michael Busch had his five-game home run streak snapped on Tuesday night, but he's still been a breath of fresh air early for the 10-7 Cubs.

When the Chicago Cubs hit the road for a West Coast road trip last week, they weren't expecting to make history. But they did, thanks to new first baseman Michael Busch.

The 26-year-old who came over from the Los Angeles Dodgers in a trade during the offseason hit a home run in five straight games, starting on April 10 in San Diego. He went deep off of Dylan Cease — who's not exactly chopped liver — with a two-run homer in the fourth inning.

The Cubs went to Seattle from there, and he homered in all three weekend games in the Pacific Northwest. Then in his first at-bat at Arizona on Monday night, he ripped a Merrill Kelly cutter into the seats.

Five games, five homers.

The streak finally ended on Tuesday, when Busch went 0-for-4 with a walk in the Cubs' 12-11 loss to the Diamondbacks, so he has to settle for just tying the Cubs' record for consecutive homers.

But at least he's in great company. Only four Cubs ever have gone yard in five straight games. Teammate Christopher Morel did it last year, and prior to that, only Sammy Sosa (1998),
Ryne Sandberg (1989) and Hack Wilson (1928) accomplished the feat.

Those three are Cubs legends. And Busch is now sitting right there with him.

"You hit a home run in five straight games, you take notice of it," new Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. "He's off to a fabulous start as a Cub. We're grateful to have him for sure."

They sure are, because they've been looking for an every-day first baseman ever since Anthony Rizzo left. Busch was never going to play in Los Angeles with Freddie Freeman holding down first base, so this is a perfect for him, too,.

He needs to play every day, and now he's getting that chance. After a slow start to the season — he was just 2-for-13 in the first four games — he's been on a tear now. He's 15-for-43 since, with six home runs and 12 RBIs.

“It’s been an incredible hot streak, but it comes from a very even-keeled, super consistent person,” Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner said, “which is why I believe in him so much.”

Busch has helped the Cubs get off to a 10-7 start, and they're right in the thick of things in the National League Central. All five teams are .500 or better through Tuesday night's games — which is a big early-season surprise — and it's a race that's certainly wide open. All five teams are separated by only two games, with the Brewers leading the way at 10-6.

The Cubs have 20 homers already, good for fourth in the NL. The pitching needs to be better — their 4.39 ERA is 10th in the NL mostly because Kyle Hendricks (12.11 ERA) and Jordan Wicks (5.68 ERA) are getting knocked around in seven combined starts.

Several other pitchers have been great. Japanese newcomer Shota Imanaga has been terrific, still not giving up a run in three starts, and Mark Leiter Jr. has pitched 10 scoreless innings out of the bullpen.

That's one of the joys of watching an NL Central race like this one. There is no dominant team in this division, not even close. The Pirates are probably overachievingh out of the gate, but they've got some nice, young players. So do the Reds. The Brewers are in a bit of transition mode but they still have a lot of solid veterans.

And the Cardinals, they're hard to figure for me. I didn't like how they rebuilt their starting rotation over the winter, but. they're hanging right in there, too.

As for Michael Busch, it's nice to see him make a statement so early. His teammates really seem to like him, and it's nice to have a guy who can pencil in the lineup every day. He's not going to have hot streaks like this very often — Morel went 11 games without a homer after his five straight last year — but he's making it entertaining.

The late show on the West Coast was fun. He's made a name for himself now. Let's see where he takes in from here.

Tom Brew is the publisher and national baseball columnist for Fastball, our baseball channel on the Sports Illustrated/FanNation network. You can follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @tombrewsports