In the grand scheme of a long, 162-game season, losing a pair of games isn’t the end of the world. Every team wants to win each game, but they’re all cognizant that there will be more two-game losing runs and plenty of the opposite, too.

Chicago Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer chose to take a lesson from another sport that’s as much mental as physical in keeping that approach.

“I try to look at it like, if a pro golfer has a bad drive on [Hole] 1, I don’t think they freak out and think the rest of the round is ruined,” Hoyer told reporters Thursday before their 10-6 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks. “I think it’s kind of the same thing, right? Like, just because we had a bad drive on one … that’s kind of the equivalent percentage.”

[Cubs takeaways: What we learned as domestic slate kicks off with win over Diamondbacks]

That’s what Hoyer tried to tell himself after dropping both games of the Tokyo Series to the Dodgers last week. Except, the hard part for him and the team was what came after. The Cubs had eight days before their next competitive game – an eternity in the monotonous grind that is a baseball season. Throw in some jet lag and it didn’t make for the most pleasant week-plus.

“The hard part, I think, was just kind of having a week to sit on that and everyone, candidly, was a little bit tired, a little bit irritable after the trip, so it wasn’t the most comfortable week,” Hoyer said.

Last season, the Cubs lost the first two contests of the year to the defending World Series champion Rangers but had to wait less than 24 hours to play again and grab a win.

“It didn’t feel that bad because you played on Sunday, right?” Hoyer recalled.

This year, the Cubs had to wait and wait before they could erase the sour taste of a pair of losses. That’s what made Thursday feel different.

This was the third game of 162 for the Cubs, but they went through the pomp and circumstance of an Opening Day because it was for the Diamondbacks. They’ll experience it twice more, too: once in West Sacramento, Calif. against the A’s on Monday and then at Wrigley Field next Friday vs. the Padres. So, while the Cubs weren’t celebrating the kickoff of a new year, it was a celebration of sorts. They were beginning the daily grind that they know.

“I know we’ve got two games under our belt, but it does feel like Opening Day,” Cubs manager Counsell told reporters before Thursday’s game. “It’s fun and it’s exciting and the two games in Japan don’t take anything away from that. I think we’re all excited to kind of get into what we know as the season and the daily grind, which is fun for us. That’s what we do.”

Part of that is turning the page and moving on. Counsell believes that mental side of the game will be a strength for the Cubs in 2025 – even though they’re just now getting to test themselves in it. And that’s what he believes will help them have success this season.

“I think we’ll be resilient,” Counsell said. “And I think when you get tested on that, you don’t get to choose, but there’s going to be tests during the season, and we’ve got to defend it. I mean, ultimately, it’s about – there’s a game tonight, and there’s a result tonight, and then we’ve got to turn the page and come out and play a good game, whatever the result, the next day.

“I think we’re wired to do that, and capable of doing that, and very prepared for that.”