After a sensational start to the season, the Chicago Cubs have severely struggled since the All-Star break and watched their division lead over the Milwaukee Brewers evaporate. Sitting eight games back in the NL Central, the Cubs dropped another game on Friday after failing to come back from an early one-run deficit against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The St. Louis Cardinals need the Cubs to continue to lose games, as they’re seven games behind them in the NL Wild Card and 3.5 games back for the third Wild Card spot.
The Pirates struck first in the fourth inning and the Cubs answered right away, and the two teams traded runs in the seventh. However, the Pirates scored a run in the top of the ninth, and the Cubs couldn’t answer. After outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong led off the ninth inning with a single, he was caught stealing after sliding through the bag, and Chicago failed to score.
The loss marked the 35th consecutive game the Cubs failed to have a comeback victory, which is the longest such streak in franchise history since at least 1901. The Cubs last comeback win was on July 2 in a 5-4 win over the Cleveland Guardians. Since then, the Cubs are 17-18.
Chicago’s recent struggles have been highlighted by the Brewers being on one of the most impressive runs in MLB history. The Cubs have gone just 11-14 since the All-Star break and have lost four of their last five games. To make matters worse for Chicago, the Brewers have gone 27-4 since July 7.
The biggest difference has been the Cubs’ bats. Chicago’s offense was one of the top run producers in the MLB throughout the first half of the season. But since the All-Star break, it’s been a struggle.
Outfielder Kyle Tucker is hitting just .182 with three extra base hits, Seiya Suzuki is right there with Tucker, batting .185 with five extra base hits and Crow-Armstrong is hitting .233 with just eight RBI.
However, if there’s room for optimism, it comes from the Cubs’ starting pitching. Chicago’s starting rotation holds a 2.92 ERA since July 1, which leads the MLB. Now, the offense just needs to kick itself back into gear for the Cubs to turn their struggles around.
“You see a lot of guys frustrated, probably see it watching on TV. When hits don’t fall, guys in scoring position, when you have a tough battle, you feel like you’re letting the group down. That’s a frustrating feeling, and I think it’s on us to pick each other up and continue to push forward,” outfielder Ian Happ said. “This season’s far from over. There’s a lot of baseball left to play, and to this point, we’ve put ourselves in a good spot, and so we got to capitalize on that and see it through.”
Despite the Cubs’ struggles, Chicago sits four games up in the NL wild card race and tied for the seventh-best record in the league. With the Brewers’ large lead in the division, it may feel like the sky is falling, but the Cubs are still firmly in position to compete for a playoff spot.
The Cubs and Cardinals play each other in the last series of the year in a three-game set in Chicago.
