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Any hopes of Saturday's rain-soaked, late-night win at Wrigley providing the spark the Chicago Cubs so desperately need waned heavily on the heels of a 5-2 loss to the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday afternoon.
Chicago has now lost six consecutive series, completely failing to find any consistency on a day-to-day basis. They barely avoided a winless homestand against Pittsburgh and Atlanta in late May, hitting them hard in the standings. It's been one step forward, and two steps back since early last month which is also the last time the Cubs won back-to-back games.
That's right. The Cubs haven't won back-to-back games in a month.
"We're not doing a good enough job of (winning), to keep pace at a good level."
— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) June 2, 2024
Craig Counsell after today's game. pic.twitter.com/MJIx91BqW1
Cubs, Brewers trending sharply in opposite directions entering June
Ironically enough, the last time Chicago picked up two wins in a row came back on May 4-5 against Milwaukee at Wrigley Field. Since that series, the Cubs have won just eight of 25 games, while the Brewers gave themselves some breathing room in the standings, going 16-10 heading into Monday.
With a badly-needed off-day to open the week, the Cubs get set to welcome in the crosstown rival White Sox for a pair of games on Tuesday and Wednesday. If there was ever a tailor-made opportunity to snap this unfortunate streak and pick up a pair of wins, this is it.
It's all going to come down to the offense. There have been signs of life lately, but this team continues to come up short in key spots. With runners in scoring position, the Cubs have the fourth-worst OPS in the National League, better than only the Giants, Pirates and Cardinals. Chicago ranks 10th in slugging percentage and a woeful 14th among NL teams in batting average.
That's led to a lot of wasted efforts from the pitching staff that, even with Ben Brown's speed bump on Sunday, features a rotation with the third-lowest ERA in the Senior Circuit this season. The Cubs will only go as far as its proven pieces take it and, so far, those guys have been the biggest reason this team is in the spot it's in.