For 15 innings, it looked like the arrow was finally pointing back up again for the Chicago Cubs.
It looked like the same team that won 10 games in a row this season — twice.
The Cubs hosted Toronto at Wrigley Field on Friday and Saturday, outscoring the Blue Jays 21-2 in the first 15 innings of the series.
Life was good for the Cubs faithful.
More than 40,000 patrons crammed into Wrigley Field and the Cubs fans in the crowd were hooting and hollering after their team took a 5-0 lead through six innings Saturday, following a 16-2 win on Friday.
Then the bullpen faltered. The Cubs lost 8-6 and the cheers turned to jeers and swears as relief pitcher Jacob Webb cursed his own performance after the game.
The Cubs had some extra time to think about that loss as Sunday’s game against the Jays was postponed because of weather and will be made up at 1:20 p.m. on Aug. 6 at Wrigley Field.
Fans with ponchos walk in Gallagher Way outside of Wrigley Field on June 21, 2026, after the Chicago Cubs game against the Toronto Blue Jays got postponed to a later date because of inclement weather. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)
The fans were cheated Sunday out of a chance to see an interesting pitching matchup between Shota Imanaga and Dylan Cease, the former Cubs farmhand and former White Sox pitcher.
The Cubs (40-37) were cheated out of a chance to win their third straight series and to erase the misery of Saturday’s collapse.
As the Cubs open a road trip in New York to face the Mets, here are three takeaways after the two-game split with the Blue Jays.
1. PCA is having a huge June.
Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson, left, and center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong celebrate after Crow-Armstrong hits a two-run home run against the Blue Jays in the sixth inning at Wrigley Field on June 20, 2026, in Chicago. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
Pete Crow-Armstrong had people wondering if he was ever going to break out of his early-season funk.
He has been absolutely killing it in June.
In 17 games in June, the 24-year-old star center fielder has been hitting .437 with an on-base percentage of .481, a slugging percentage of .930, and OPS of 1.411 with nine home runs, 14 RBIs and six stolen bases.
Also this month, he was one hit shy of the cycle against the San Francisco Giants on June 13 and did hit for the cycle two days later against the Colorado Rockies.
“His production has just been excellent,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said on Saturday. “His production is taking a big step forward and that’s meaningful for us.”
Before Saturday, Crow-Armstrong had an 18-game stretch in which he had 34 hits including nine home runs, five doubles, two triples and added six stolen bases into the mix.
According to Stats Perform, no one in major-league history has come up with numbers like that in an 18-game stretch.
Quietly, Crow-Armstrong is increasing his walk production. He walked 29 times in 157 games in 2025 and already has 28 in 77 games in 2026.
That’s important to him now that he is getting more starts as a leadoff hitter.
“Getting to first base is priority one,” Crow-Armstrong said on Friday. “If I can get on base any way I can to start the game off, that’s doing my job as a leadoff hitter. I contribute to this team’s success by being on first base.
“The walks are a fun new thing that I’m learning how to take. I’m going to swing, but I’ll take the walks whenever they come.”
Counsell, for one, appreciates it.
“He’s in swing mode and that’s kind of been his thing,” Counsell said. “But now he has learned that he can be in swing mode and still not swing.
“That’s how he should be. It’s still an aggressive mode and he doesn’t take anything away from his aggressiveness. I think he is able to say ‘swing-swing-swing’ and then ‘no.’ ‘Yes, yes, yes’ and then ‘no.’’’
2. Unexpected off day affects the starting rotation.
Chicago Cubs pitcher Shota Imanaga on the field before a baseball game against the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday, June 19, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/David Banks)
Imanaga will get the nod against the Mets on Monday. Hours after Sunday’s postponement, the Cubs announced Edward Cabrera is scheduled to start Tuesday, with Javier Assad slated for Wednesday. Cabrera had exited his last start early with a cramp in his pitching hand.
Opening day starter Matthew Boyd had a rehab assignment on Saturday and struck out seven hitters in four scoreless innings for Single-A South Bend against Fort Wayne. He threw 59 pitches and if his left shoulder stays pain-free, he will be closer to coming back.
The left-handed Boyd was placed on the injured list May 4 with a left meniscus injury and was rehabbing that when the shoulder started to act up.
3. The alleged easy part of the schedule is almost over.
The Cubs opened a 22-game stretch against teams with losing records on June 2. Thus far, they are 8-9, plus a rainout, with four games against the Mets remaining before facing the National League Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers on the road on June 28.
For a sliver of a silver lining, heading into Sunday’s action, the Cubs were the top team in the division over their past 10 games with a 6-4 mark. Cincinnati was 5-5 while Milwaukee, St. Louis and Pittsburgh were 4-6.
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Chicago Tribune.