Once again, Cubs keep it close, but find a way to lose to St. Louis
This is not a new topic when it comes to the Cubs, but their stats continue to be confounding.
Heading into Tuesday's action, the Cubs ranked second in MLB in starter ERA (3.18), ninth in bullpen ERA (3.54). Their hitters were fourth in batting average, seventh in OPS and 11th in home runs.
The fielding has generally been very good, although their defensive runs above average is subpar, according to fangraphs.com.
Plenty of things are working well for the Cubs, but they posted a 6-12 record in the previous 18 games.
Actually, make that 6-13.
St. Louis scored twice in the top of the ninth inning to hand the Cubs yet another loss, this time 6-4 at Wrigley Field.
Antioch High School grad Paul DeJong sent a rocket into the left field bleachers off Javier Assad for the go-ahead run. Ex-Cub Willson Contreras had a much quieter game Tuesday, going 0-for-3 with a walk.
There were plenty of mistakes along the way, but what ultimately cost the Cubs is they struck for 7 hits and 5 walks against St. Louis starter Jack Flaherty over 5 innings, but scored just 3 runs.
"I feel like we've got to be leading baseball in loading the bases too," Cubs manager David Ross said. "We've got traffic everywhere, right? We're doing a lot of things well and I'm going to continue to try to focus on those things. We're playing great defense, the pitching, the bullpen, the intent is there, the work is there. Balls aren't falling for us right now. Thank goodness this is a long season."
Nick Madrigal provided a surprise spark filling in for Nico Hoerner at the leadoff spot. Madrigal singled and doubled in his first two at-bats, and was driven home both times by No 2 hitter Dansby Swanson.
Swanson was one of many slumping Cubs, having gone 3 for his previous 24 heading into Tuesday. He went 3-for-4 in this game, though, and dropped an opposite-field, 2-run homer into the basket in the third inning to bring the Cubs within 4-3. Madrigal had been in a 4-for-25 skid.
Christopher Morel made his first start in the majors this season and clubbed a tying home run in the sixth inning. Morel was exuberant as he rounded the bases, but even his trademark enthusiasm couldn't inspire the Cubs into taking the lead. They finished the night 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position.
"Great job by Morel. He's just a spark," Ross said. "He's just an electric type player. Morel's day was really good."
There have been plenty of poor hitting days at Wrigley Field so far this season, with either cold temperatures, the wind blowing in, or both. Tuesday brought warmer temperatures and calm skies.
What's missing is the offensive spark. The Cubs have now gone eight straight games without scoring as many as 5 runs. During the past two weeks alone, they ranked 18th just in batting average and 17th in OPS.
The Cubs clearly missed Yan Gomes' presence while sat out due to a concussion. Backup Tucker Barnhart is hitting just .182 for the season. Patrick Wisdom got another day off while in a 3-for-18 stretch.
Seiya Suzuki had collected a hit in 11 of the previous 14 games, but his batting average was just .207 since April 22. Rookie Matt Mervis, after starting his Cubs career by going 4-for-10 at the plate, is in an 0-for-11 slump.
One piece of good news: Before giving up the game-winning runs in the ninth, Assad threw 5 scoreless innings in relief for the second straight outing.
The bad news: Starter Jameson Taillon couldn't complete the third inning in his second start since recovering from a groin strain. He surrendered 2 solo home runs and walked in a run before leaving the mound.
"Results-wise, I didn't like where I was at, obviously," Taillon said. "But physically I did feel healthy and strong and I felt like all my pitch shapes and stuff were fine.
"I don't think it's anything too mechanical, I just think it comes down to making the right pitch at the right time. The two home runs weren't terrible pitches, but good swings. Definitely mad about the (two) walks, that's very uncharacteristic of me."
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