Thanks to an unbelievable week by the starting rotation, much of the struggles on offense were swept under the rug for the Chicago Cubs.
Well, there’s no more hiding how unbelievably bad the offense has been now. For the ninth straight game the Cubs failed to score more than three runs, as the St. Louis Cardinals beat them 3-2 Friday night. The current nine-game stretch in which the Cubs have scored no more than three runs is the longest since 2006.
Yup, going all the way back to the final year of Dusty Baker as the Cubs manager. That three runs or fewer streak lasted 11 games.
The Cubs lost 3-2 to the Cardinals, scoring both runs in the ninth inning, giving them a total of 18 scored in their last nine games. They've tallied 3 or fewer in all nine, the longest such streak since 2006 when it reached 11 games. The Cubs have lost… https://t.co/B6caVnptCI
— Jesse Rogers (@ESPNChiCubs) May 5, 2018
The Cubs didn’t score until the ninth inning on Friday, getting two runs off St. Louis closer Bud Norris. Tommy La Stella hit an RBI-single with one out and Ben Zobrist drove in the second with a fielder’s choice ground ball.
Kris Bryant was up with two outs, representing the go-ahead run, but he grounded to third and Zobrist was thrown out at second to end the game.
The Cubs have lost three in a row for the first time this season, but it truly is remarkable they’re 5-4 during this current streak of almost no offense. What’s more frustrating is the offense hasn’t been consistent at all this year.
It’s not just the last nine games. Overall, the Cubs haven’t scored more than three runs in 17 of their 29 games this season. Down right ugly.
Right now it’s even more maddening because it seems like every single player is in a slump.
But again, it’s obviously not time to panic. We’ve seen this group snap out of it and they have been a streaky offense even going back to the 2016 season. I mean, Anthony Rizzo isn’t going to hit below .200 all year and Willson Contreras is going to hit more home runs.
But shit has it been frustrating this week.
