Chicago Cubs are in a funk with 3rd straight loss — 8-7 to the Cardinals — and their 5th in the last 6 games

Chicago Tribune

4 days ago

ST. LOUIS — Pete Crow-Armstrong bluntly described his remedy to flush a tough game.
'Go to sleep and wake up.'
Crow-Armstrong has helped the Chicago Cubs win a lot of games this year — and will continue to, as his valuable all-around performance already puts him in conversations for National League MVP.
Two moments in the Cubs' 8-7 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday at Busch Stadium featured rare blemishes for the 23-year-old: His gaffe forgetting the number of outs cost a run and he later opted to bunt with runners on the corners in a one-run game. Crow-Armstrong's actions parallel a difficult stretch for the Cubs.
'I didn't do a good job of playing baseball today,' Crow-Armstrong said. ' … I gave two outs so can't really do much about that.'
The defeat cut the Cubs' division lead to 2 1/2 games over the Cardinals and the Milwaukee Brewers as they ride a three-game losing streak and losses in five of their last six games. The Cubs (46-33) became the last team in the majors to record at least two losing streaks of three or more games.
'It's remarkable that it's near the end of June for this kind of conversation to start, but obviously what's ahead of us is what matters,' Nico Hoerner told the Tribune of the team's struggles following the loss. 'But I think that speaks to the quality of this group, and that's what I expect from us moving forward.'
The Cubs' recent problems are broader and more concerning than their budding star experiencing a bad game. Right-hander Jameson Taillon got tagged for eight runs, including three home runs for 21 on the season to match last year's total in 75 fewer innings. Taillon has allowed 13 earned runs between his last two starts, the second-most in a two-game span during his career since 2017 with Pittsburgh (17 earned runs).
The offense gave Taillon and the bullpen enough support with a level of run scoring that has typically translated to wins. Hoerner's first home run of the season, a two-run shot that just cleared the left-field wall, cut the Cardinals' lead to one in the sixth. The Cubs were 25-3 when scoring at least seven runs in a game before Tuesday. However, the pitching staff has given up 20 home runs in their last six games, tied with the Baltimore Orioles for their most in a six-game span this year and matched the Cubs' record with the 1956 team.
Sign up for our Cubs Insider newsletter'I felt like the game was pretty easy for me there for like six weeks or whatever and then now it's really hard again,' Taillon said. 'You just expect that to happen at some point in the season, and it's about punching back and finding a way to fix it and correct it as fast as possible. So, I'm aware, obviously, that the last two haven't been very good, and it needs to be better.'
Taillon couldn't hold onto a three-run lead after the Cubs put up five runs in the top of the third inning on Kyle Tucker's two-run single and Seiya Suzuki's three-run home run against St. Louis starter Michael McGreevy. The Cardinals answered with two runs in the bottom of the frame and delivered the decisive runs in the fourth. A Nolan Gorman solo home run and Maysn Winn's two-run double off Taillon gave the Cardinals a 7-5 lead.
Then Crow-Armstrong lost track of the outs. Thinking he had ended the inning by catching Alec Burleson's fly ball at the center field wall, it instead turned into a two-base sacrifice fly. Winn was beginning to round third base by the time Crow-Armstrong realized his error and fired the ball back to the infield.
Taillon chalked up the miscue as a 'freak thing' by one of best defenders in baseball and wryly noted, 'I'm not too concerned with the eighth run I gave up, I'm concerned with all eight.'
'He takes a lot of pride in his defense, takes a lot of pride in being a great teammate so I'm not too worried about it. I was just more mad at myself for giving up the homers and giving up a lot of hard contact.'
Added Hoerner: 'Pete's obviously had an incredible season, but like all of us has had plenty of frustrating moments this year already, and we all handle those things in different ways, but his response has always been onto the next thing and playing the game hard and playing to win.
'If he was a guy that didn't respect the game and didn't play hard and wasn't locked in when he got to the field, then there'd probably be a different conversation. But I think people here really trust him and love having him out there.'
Crow-Armstrong had a chance to deliver a big hit in the seventh inning when he stepped to the plate with one out and runners on the corners. Cardinals lefty JoJo Romero got ahead on the Cubs' cleanup hitter using a first-pitch elevated fastball and followed with a slider down and away, though in the zone. Crow-Armstrong attempted to push bunt the pitch for a base hit. Instead, the ball meekly made it halfway to the mound and Romero fielded it cleanly and fired to first base for the easy out.
Although Suzuki advanced to second on the play, the seventh became a wasted opportunity — something that happened too often on a night the Cubs went 2-for-8 with runners in scoring position with eight left on base despite 13 hits. Dansby Swanson fouled out to right field when Burleson made a nifty catch into the netting to leave Tucker and Suzuki on base, among the four he stranded in scoring position with two outs.
'It's against the left-handed pitcher, and he wants the ball in play, that's what he's thinking,' manager Craig Counsell said of Crow-Armstrong. 'Get the ball in play, and he just made a poor bunt.'
The Cubs know they can't let their underwhelming play over the past week spiral into a season-altering funk. Players expressed confidence after Tuesday's loss that they can weather this challenging stretch and turn things around, citing how well they have played most of the year and the inevitable ups and downs within a 162-game season.
'We've got a lot of faith in these guys,' Swanson said, 'and it's just a matter of when, not if.'