Cubs fought hard in series loss to Tigers, but a new concern emerges

Winning seven consecutive series is a difficult thing to do in baseball. It's generally the mark of a serious contender, even when all of those games are played against bottom-feeders and teams at or below .500.

Nevertheless, the Cubs saw their streak die on Sunday, when the Detroit Tigers claimed the rubber match against them at Comerica Park. For the second time in the series — and third in the last five games — the Tigers effectively neutered the Cubs' usually-explosive offense, calling into question just how good the second-most prolific run scoring team actually is.

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In the team's last five games, the Cubs have scored seven runs (opposing pitcher: Jake Irvin) and six runs (Keider Montero). They've also been shutout twice (MacKenzie Gore; Jack Flaherty) and scored a lone run once (Tarik Skubal).

That's a small sample, but a pretty damning condemnation of an offense that has been teeing off against teams like the Rockies, Marlins, White Sox, and Reds over the past month.

Now, this Cubs team, which stands at 40-25 and first place in the NL Central, hasn't been built on the back of just dominating also-rans. Lest anyone forget, they beat the Dodgers the final four times they played them in April to take the season series 4-3.

But it is a concern that, after facing mostly listless competition for weeks, the Cubs' offense didn't show up in two out of the three games it played in a potential World Series preview against the Tigers. That isn't to say the team is devoid of talent or has lost its way — many a good offense has been rendered helpless at the hands of Tarik Skubal — but it is proof that this version of the Cubs can't be the final one as October approaches.

And, hey, it's as good a time as any to get humbled by the best team in the other league. The All-Star break is a month out, and the trade deadline isn't far behind. This is the optimal time for the team to evaluate the needs it still has, even as the bullpen turns into a strength and the team continues to get solid contributions from its rotation fill-ins.

There aren't any real places to directly upgrade the offense, what with Matt Shaw finding his groove and the middle-infield tandem of Dansby Swanson and Nico Hoerner being the only regulars with wRC+'s below 100.

Finally replacing one of Jon Berti, Vidal Bruián or Justin Turner would do the team some good, as would adding another starting pitcher to help out Matthew Boyd and (once healthy) Shota Imanaga atop the rotation. Again, the issue isn't a lack of talent, but rather the team's ability to focus and string together solid at-bats against elite competition.

It's easy to be discouraged by a few hapless losses against a really good team, but losing to the Tigers isn't a death knell on the season. The best teams take these kinds of losses and learn from them. Hopefully, the Cubs will do the same.