Right now there is one thing everyone’s asking—is there anything Shohei Ohtani can’t do? The man has broken records of some of the baseball icons, like Alex Rodriguez and even Babe Ruth. He is redefining what it means to be a dual-threat player in modern baseball. And quickly becoming one of the most favorite baseball stars, not just for fans but players themselves, regardless of their team affiliations. When Chicago Cubs pitcher Shota Imanaga was asked to create a roster of his favorite Japanese baseball players, he gave a jaw-dropping response, wanting Ohtani for every position—such is the craze!

Plus, Shota Imanaga isn’t the only team member in the Cubs who is an Ohtani fan-boy. When posed with the same question about his dream lineup, Seiya Suzuki, too, didn’t miss a beat in choosing Ohtani. He is truly a once-in-a-generation talent. However, Suzuki had more names, and he even allotted them their positions, which was pretty interesting.

Seiya Suzuki’s red-hot streak powers Cubs’ playoff hopes

Seiya Suzuki when asked to give the names of the Japanese players, didn’t hesitate even once—it was as if he had the list ready to go at the drop of a hat. His eyes were practically sparkling with excitement as he quickly listed off the names, a mix of all-time greats and current stars that any baseball fan would recognize.

• Pitcher: Yu Darvish
• Catcher: Kenji Jojima
• First Base: Sadaharu Oh
• Second Base: Tadahito Iguchi
• Third Base: Munetaka Murakami
• Shortstop: Kazuo Matsui
• Left Infield: Hideki Matsui
• Center Field: Yuki Yanagita

The 5x All-Star star might be more than enthusiastic about naming his pick for the best players, but he’s been putting on quite a show himself lately. He is on a hitting tear trying to give his best to increase all chances of clinching that playoff spot. Seiya Suzuki leads the team with a .276 batting average and ranks second in home runs and RBI. With every swing, Suzuki is proving that he’s not just a fan of greatness—he’s becoming a part of it!

However, Suzuki has highlighted that it’s the teamwork that’s helping the club propel forward saying, “The team, we’ve always played together. I think, right now, everybody is playing well.” This sentiment is something even Craig Counsell, their manager, told the reporters about their recent hot streak—“We’ve become consistent, I think.” But well, their game on Monday was something out of the blue, and it showed that they need to recoup! 

Cubs suffer first late-inning collapse at Wrigley since the infamous Bartman Game

The Chicago Cubs are enjoying a hot streak, winning eight of their last ten games and lighting up the scoreboard. Their offense has been splendid, scoring 99 runs over the span, the most in a 10-game stretch for the franchise since the summer of 1930. The bats have been alive, given they finished August ranked second in the MLB in both run per game 5.96 and OPS .792, trailing only behind the Arizona Diamondbacks. But Monday night’s game with the Pirates ended up being a nail-biting game — but not the good kind for the Cubs.

At first, the Cubs were leading the game with a 3-0 and it looked like another victory was about to fall on their bag. But well, things didn’t turn out the way they hoped for. Jorge Lopez, the right-hander, gave up four precious runs in the eighth inning and Shawn Armstrong let another important one slip in the night inning. And that’s now suddenly from a winning spot, the Cubs were staring down at a 5-3 loss. And get this, it’s the first time the Cubs have blown a 3-0 lead in the eighth inning or later at Wrigley since that crazy “Bartman” game in 2003!

Right now the Cubs are sitting at 71-67 and are 3.5 games out of the last wild card spot. They will be back to the diamond Tuesday night, most probably with Kyle Hendricks making a comeback. His making it back to the mound will probably cool down the Rookie of the Year contender Paul Skenes. What do you think – will the Cubs make it to the playoffs? Let us know!