CHICAGO -- If they keep this up, the Chicago Cubs will be deserving of some fancy come-from-behind nickname. The never-say-die, comeback kids did it again on Tuesday, winning their fifth straight game after trailing early in each contest.
"Everything is believable," manager Joe Maddon said after the Cubs' 5-3 win over the Detroit Tigers. "We believe in everything right now. Santa Claus is absolutely true."
No word on if the Tooth Fairy or Easter Bunny is paying them a visit anytime soon, but you might believe as well if you were in the Cubs dugout, considering they've trailed 3-0 three times during the streak, including Tuesday, when Maddon pinch hit for struggling starting pitcher Kyle Hendricks, bringing in Tommy LaStella to lead off the fifth inning and ignite a three-run frame off Michael Fulmer.
"That's the kind of guy, you keep trying to hit home runs against, and you come up empty," Maddon said. "We finally adjusted our approach."
It's the same approach that has worked for a week now -- ever since hitting coach Chili Davis shut the clubhouse doors for a hitters-only meeting. Since then, the Cubs have scored a whopping 65 runs in seven games. Tuesday's five scores seemed like a tiny total after the team tallied 10 or more runs in four straight games.
"It's just so fun watching those guys and their approach right now," Hendricks said. "It's just a matter of time in any ball game right now."
The Cubs have 25 come-from-behind wins so far this season, the most in baseball. They're 21-22 when the opponent scores first, the best mark in the National League. For perspective, according to ESPN Stats & Information, the last teams with a .500 or better record when their opponents scored first were the 2006 White Sox (36-36) and Yankees (38-38). It sustains the kind of energy a dugout loves to embrace: the feeling that you're never out of any game.
"We have a good amount of experience knowing we have to finish the game regardless if we're up or down, and we treat every inning like it's 0-0," Jason Heyward said.
Spoken like a true veteran. Of course, most talented teams earn their share of come-from-behind wins, but it takes a certain amount of quiet confidence to not press in the batter's box when trailing. The Cubs have rightly been accused of trying to hit three-run homers when the bases are empty, but not so much lately. Since that hitters meeting, which took place three series ago, the Cubs have been all about passing the baton to the next guy.
"Isn't it fun to watch that?" Maddon asked rhetorically. "Line to line. Two-strike approach. Moving the ball with two [strikes]."
It's especially fun considering the state of baseball these days, but if you're looking for opposite-field hitting, fewer strikeouts and good defense, you've come to the right place. The Cubs have gone old-school during their win streak. There have been some home runs, but they have singled and doubled teams into submission. And they're at the top of the league in hitting the ball the other way.
No one has illustrated that more than Heyward, who surpassed his 2017 total on Tuesday with his 24th opposite-field hit of the season. He has been the best example of the line-to-line approach Maddon has been preaching. Rizzo has always embraced that strategy, and now his teammates are joining in.
"I don't think you see the home run swing on every single pitch," Rizzo said. "Guys are very disciplined right now. It's really fun. When guys are down two strikes, it's not about hitting a homer."
Rizzo proved that himself on Tuesday, when he went the opposite way for a game-tying base hit in the fifth and a go-ahead fielder's choice RBI groundout in the seventh. Even without their closer available and with their starter having troubles, the Cubs found a way. In fact, they keep finding ways, inching closer to first place in the process.
"When you get to that point and you get that kind of confidence going, you don't want to nick it," Maddon said. "It's the residue of our starting pitching not being what it normally is. We're giving up more early runs from our starters that we didn't anticipate that happening. But such a tightly knit group, they're there to pick everyone else up."
That, more than anything, is the line you can draw back to a week ago, in the visitors clubhouse at Dodger Stadium, when the Cubs' hitting coach gave his guys a simple message: You don't have to do this yourself.
The result has been an offensive explosion -- no matter what or when the other team scores. It comes with the talent and culture the team has developed over time.
"I think we're always relaxed," Rizzo said. "We're not a team to get outside of our comfort zone. ... We know we're a good team, just have to string together good at-bats."
Mission accomplished. Christmas has come early for the Cubs pitching staff. As the temperatures have risen in Chicago, so have the run totals for the home team -- along with a never-say-die attitude. It's the kind of thing that bodes well for the playoffs, if the Cubs get that far.
"I think it's just confidence," Hendricks said. "They've [the hitters] got it right now."