Chicago Cubs struggling last few times through rotation

The Chicago Cubs starting rotation was a strength for a majority of this season. But the last three times through the rotation, they’ve been anything but, and are putting more stress on the bullpen.

‘It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.” Every year, I’m reminded of the Tale of Two Cities by how the Chicago Cubs are playing. A 22-5 run? That was the best of times. But since that time, the formidable rotation has started to slip a bit. And it’s beginning to show in the results. The Cubs are 4-6 in their last 10 and are on a three-game losing streak.

Some have blamed the bullpen as they’ve struggled to close out games. This is a fact. But they aren’t the only reason the Cubs are scuffling. The starting rotation, which was a strength for that winning stretch has found themselves failing to go deep into games.

Outside of one good start by Kyle Hendricks, the last three times through the rotation, they’ve gone deeper than six innings just twice. A Hendricks start on May 14 when he went eight innings. The other the Yu Darvish start, which was pretty much mandatory that he was going to stay out there as long as he could. He went seven on May 25 but allowed six runs on 12 hits. Both contests were against the Cincinnati Reds.

So what has gone wrong with the staff?