Cubs are in danger of extending a streak they'd rather see come to an end

Although the 2025 Chicago Cubs have punched their ticket for the playoffs, the team is about to extend a streak we would all rather see broken sooner rather than later.

I'm talking about the fact that it has been seven years since the Cubs have had a player record more than 100 runs batted in during the regular season, a feat that was last accomplished by Javier Baez and Anthony Rizzo in 2018. This stat is certainly not the end-all, be-all of a baseball season, but driving in runs is a clear indicator of clutch hitting and you need big run producers to succeed.

Cody Bellinger came close to cracking the 100 RBI mark in 2023 when he drove in 97. And he likely would have reached that mark if he had not missed several weeks with a knee injury.

Can the Cubs offense regain its power stroke from early in the year?

The bright side is that the Cubs currently have eight players with more than 50 runs batted in, with Pete Crow-Armstrong (90) and Seiya Suzuki (91) leading the charge. But earlier in the season, it looked like both men were going to easily surpass 100 RBI until they fell into prolonged slumps that are lingering into September. As of Sept. 19, Crow-Armstrong has just two home runs and 12 runs batted in since August 1, while Suzuki has only one homer and 10 RBI in the same timeframe - a near-two-month span.

If the Cubs are going to make a deep playoff run, they need Crow-Armstrong and Suzuki to find their power and come through in clutch moments again. Especially because Kyle Tucker's calf injury might sideline him for the playoffs, leaving the other two outfielders as the team's main run producers.

Fortunately, Suzuki got some extended rest after dealing with an illness, and Crow-Armstrong has been hitting the ball with authority lately. The center fielder smacked two line drives with exit velocities over 100 MPH against Reds' starter Hunter Greene on Thursday that somehow resulted in outs and collected two more hits on Friday night, showing signs of turning things around at the plate at the perfect time.