NEW YORK — For the second day in a row, the Chicago Cubs had a game postponed by rain. Manager Craig Counsell said his pitching was in good shape Sunday, so the first rainout didn’t change much.Monday’s rainout actually causes a slight issue with a doubleheader on the schedule for Wednesday against the Mets in New York. After the bullpen weathered so much early in the season, injuries and ineffectiveness are allowing the cracks to show.Daniel Palencia is on the injured list, Phil Maton has struggled and Hunter Harvey lasted just four innings before injuries sidetracked his campaign. That trio was expected to handle much of the high-leverage innings coming into the season.Even the healthy arms have looked shaky of late. Jacob Webb has given up runs in four of his past five outings. Ethan Roberts and Trent Thornton have struggled of late — neither misses bats at a high level, so even if they keep the ball in the park and on the ground, bad luck can bite them. Caleb Thielbar has a walk rate (12.8 percent) that is more than double last season and has given up the same number of home runs (five) as all of 2025.“You’re gonna get beat one day, and you gotta show up the next day and gotta go out in the same situation,” Counsell said. “That’s the life of a major league reliever. You got eight guys. Those are your guys.”These are the guys Counsell has to lean on to get through the season. At least for now. Team president Jed Hoyer and his front office have cycled through arms who have minor league options on the 40-man roster. No one has popped as of yet. So the search continues.PCA wins NL honorsPete Crow-Armstrong was named the National League’s Player of the Week after putting up a 1.900 OPS with four homers. Crow-Armstrong has rocketed up the leaderboards of late and, per FanGraphs, he leads all position players with a 4.6 WAR. Shohei Ohtani’s combined WAR (pitching and hitting) leads all players.Crow-Armstrong has a 145 wRC+, and with 16 home runs and 18 stolen bases, putting him on pace for another 30-30 season. The small adjustments he’s made are indicative of a young player fine-tuning his craft. His chase rate is down to 37.1 percent, four points below last season’s mark and much lower in recent weeks. His hard-hit rate is up to 51.2 percent, nearly 10 points greater than last year. His walk rate has jumped from 4.5 percent to 8.5 percent.But his performance against lefties may be most important. Last season, Crow-Armstrong had a 59 wRC+ against southpaws. This year, it’s up to 137, and his batting average is actually a tick higher (.287 vs. .286) against lefties than righties. Now, just going to a lefty against Crow-Armstrong isn’t an easy win for an opposing manager.Counsell noticed the development his star has made when Crow-Armstrong faced Toronto left-handed reliever Mason Fluharty on Saturday. Crow-Armstrong laid off sweepers away, took some that he didn’t like at the edge of the zone and then got jammed by a cutter. But instead of trying to pull the ball and take Fluharty deep, he got enough bat on the pitch for a single.“It allows you to make good swing decisions, and you’re good enough to get enough on a baseball to get a base hit,” Counsell said. “That’s what high-level hitting is to me sometimes, and I thought that was a good example of it.”Suzuki at DH; Shaw stepping upCounsell once again had Seiya Suzuki as the team’s designated hitter in the lineup that was posted Monday afternoon. Suzuki has been healthy enough to be in the lineup, but he has yet to play the field after tweaking his right knee while playing defense in San Francisco on June 13.“Obviously, he’s been in there every day, so he’s feeling good enough to do that,” Counsel said. “But yeah, he’s been a little slower in being confident running around and sliding in the outfield than initially expected.”Matt Shaw has returned from the IL, is performing well in right field and looks strong at the plate, making Suzuki’s absence in the field manageable.Since returning from the IL on June 6, Shaw has a .292/.370/.583 slash line in 27 plate appearances. For a team that was scuffling offensively, Shaw has been a much-needed spark at the plate.“He’s doing a good job, especially against left-handed pitching,” Counsell said. “He’s definitely earned at-bats.”Conrad back in swingThe Cubs selected Ethan Conrad with the 17th pick of the first round last summer. But the left-handed outfielder/first baseman has yet to make an appearance in a professional game. The Cubs knew he wouldn’t play last season when they drafted him while he recovered from shoulder surgery. This season, a back injury has shelved him since spring training.Conrad is slated for live BP this week in Arizona. Depending on how that goes, it could mean getting into game action at the Arizona Complex League either late this week or next. That would be welcome news for an organization that’s seen some other minor-league bats pop early this summer.Jun 23, 2026Connections: Sports EditionSpot the pattern. Connect the termsFind the hidden link between sports terms