Darvish's Cy Young bid among Cubs' best performances in 2020

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The Cubs didn't accomplish their goal of winning the World Series this season. Their postseason run ended with a sweep to the Marlins in the NL Wild Card round.Despite that, there's several individual performances the club can celebrate that played a big role in the Cubs returning to the postseason for the fifth time in six years. Those same performances offer hope for a better end result in 2021, too.Here's a look at some of the best performances by Cubs players in the unprecedented 2020 season.

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One pressing Cubs question entering 2020 was whether Darvish would carry over his dominant 2019 second half. The answer — after a so-so first outing against the Brewers — was a resounding yes.

Darvish was a constant in a Cubs rotation that started hot, experienced some mid-season hiccups and bounced back down the stretch. He put together a Cy Young quality season and was the favorite for the award before a down three-start stretch in September (4.26 ERA).

But the overall body of work was extremely impressive. The right-hander threw 10 quality starts in 12 tries. He finished with a 2.01 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, 93 strikeouts and 14 walks in 76 innings. 

The Cubs may have missed the postseason without him, and although they lost his one playoff start, it wasn’t due to his performance (6 2/3, 5 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 6 K).

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One of the biggest highlights of the season came from one of the most unlikely players in Mills. The soft-tossing right-hander threw the 16th no-hitter in franchise history Sept. 13 against the Brewers.

On a staff with Darvish, Kyle Hendricks and Jon Lester, Mills was the least likely Cubs pitcher to throw a no-no. Heck, he lost the fifth starter competition to Tyler Chatwood in March, before the league shut down due to COVID-19. 

José Quintana’s thumb injury prior to summer training camp opened the door for Mills to join the rotation. He posted a 4.48 ERA in 11 starts, finishing on a high note with a 3.64 ERA in five September starts. 

Mills is positioned to be part of the rotation in 2021, with team president Theo Epstein calling him a “dependable” and “adaptable” arm at his end-of-season presser.

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Happ carried the Cubs offense for much of a season in which Kris Bryant, Javier Báez, Anthony Rizzo, Willson Contreras and Kyle Schwarber struggled for extended periods.

Happ hit ninth on Opening Day, progressively moving up the lineup. He moved to the leadoff spot when Bryant hit the shelf with a wrist/finger injury in August and never relinquished it the rest of the season.

Happ’s production dipped in September (.213/.286/.360) but he was a true NL MVP candidate through August (.294/.417/.624). And along with Jason Heyward, he was one of the few Cubs to hit in the postseason (4-for-8). In fact, his solo home run in Game 1 vs. Miami was the only time the Cubs scored all series.

Entering an offseason of uncertainty, Happ looks like a building block for the Cubs offense going forward.

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It’s not about how you start, but how you finish. In Hendricks’ case, his start and finish to the regular season were both dominant

Hendricks threw a complete game shutout on Opening Day, an impressive feat considering the COVID-19 layoff limited starters’ pitch counts early in the season. Although he followed that with four quality starts in six outings, he allowed 11 total runs in those other two games. 

Hendricks turned things up in September, allowing just six runs in 37 1/3 innings (1.45 ERA). He walked four batters the entire month and walked no more than two batters in any regular season outing.

He wasn’t his sharpest in the postseason opener against Miami, but Hendricks put the Cubs in position to win (6 1/3 innings, three runs). With him and Darvish, the Cubs have two horses in their rotation going into 2021.

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Kimbrel couldn’t have gotten off to a worse start this season following a bad debut 2019 season in Chicago. He walked four and hit a batter July 27 in Cincinnati, getting one out before Jeremy Jeffress replaced him and preserved an 8-7 Cubs win.

Kimbrel allowed five runs across his next three outings, prompting David Ross to go with a closer by committee. This allowed Kimbrel to work through his mechanical issues, leading to his improvement the rest of the way — outside of a blown save against the Reds on Aug 29.

In 14 outings from Aug. 14 to the end of the season, Kimbrel sported a 1.42 ERA, striking out 26 compared to seven walks in 12 2/3 innings. He was near perfect in September (eight games, three hits, 0.00 ERA, 13 K/0 BB.

Kimbrel has one year left on his contract, and team president Theo Epstein pointed to how he “righted himself” and “pitched at a level of dominance” up to his career norms as an important factor entering 2021.

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Kimbrel’s early woes made Jeffress’ contributions even more important for a Cubs bullpen that struggled in the early going. The Cubs added him on a low-cost one-year deal after a 2019 marred by injury, and he became their best high-leverage reliever.

Jeffress led the Cubs in appearances (22), ERA (1.54), WHIP (0.94) and saves (eight — in 10 tries). He anchored the bullpen, which posted the second-best ERA in baseball in September, and was credited for mentoring the club’s other relievers.

The Cubs needed a stabilizing veteran presence for high-leverage spots, and Jeffress delivered on almost every occasion.

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Heyward was in the midst of a good 2019 season before his numbers took a dip during his stint as the leadoff man. He followed that up with his best offensive season as a Cub, one that may have warranted All-Star consideration in a normal year.

Heyward played his typical Gold Glove defense in right field this season, hitting .265/.392/.456 in 50 games. Along with Happ, he was one of the few Cubs to hit on a consistent basis.

And, lest we forget the highlight Heyward provided one day before Mills’ no-hitter. The right fielder hit a go-ahead ninth inning home run off Josh Hader on Sept. 12, helping the Cubs win and avoid their third shutout in four games. 

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Ross faced an unprecedented season in his first year as Cubs manager and handled it well. Under his leadership, the Cubs returned to the playoffs for the first time since 2018. They won their first NL Central crown since 2017.

The Cubs led the division from July 26 onward despite injuries to the rotation, a struggling offense and a bullpen that Ross needed to determine a pecking order for. 

Most importantly, zero Cubs players tested positive for COVID-19, a testament to their hard work and discipline and Ross’ leadership. He guided them through what many consider the toughest season in baseball history. 

“What we saw, what we experienced was a very successful first year for someone who's going to be a great manager here for a long time,” Epstein said.

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