Historically, and certainly since Craig Counsell made the trip down I-90 from Milwaukee, the Cubs have been a pitching-first ballclub. If you closely examine their best teams in recent memory, hurlers like Jon Lester, Jake Arrieta, Carlos Zambrano, Kyle Hendricks, and even newcomers like Cade Horton mark a pedigree of lockdown starting pitching. The Cubs’ 3.81 team ERA ranked ninth in MLB, and their starters were eighth in all of baseball with a 3.83 mark.
Even with the early loss of Justin Steele, a rotation led by Horton, Matthew Boyd, Shu014dta Imanaga, and even Colin Rea ensured that the Cubs kept winning even when the offense went cold for stretches.