Sunday’s loss to the Marlins was the Cubs’ 11th consecutive loss and 13th in their last 14 games.
The Cubs were hoping their three-game set in Miami would yield some different results. But that wasn’t the case as Sunday’s 4-1 loss sent them to a sweep against the Marlins and their second 11-game losing streak of the season.
Here’s three takeaways from the Cubs’ series against the Marlins
Opportunity knocks for Frank Schwindel
First baseman Frank Schwindel has been playing like a man possessed since the Cubs recalled him from Triple-A Iowa.The Cubs’ first baseman has bounced around, but has found himself in a nice groove with the Cubs.
Schwindel capped a great series at the plate in Miami with a game-tying homer in the sixth inning of Sunday’s 4-1 loss to the Marlins. The 423-foot solo shot was his second home run of the series. Since joining the team on July 30, he’s slashing .367/.438/.708 with four homers and is hitting .382 over the last ten games.
“I was obviously very excited to get picked up by the Cubs,” Schwindel said. “First time in the National League, first time on this side of the country, really. But it’s just an awesome opportunity. They made a bunch of moves, which gave me the opportunity to show up and play. And I’m having a great time so far. Just want to keep it going.”
Rotation under construction after week of moves
The Cubs rotation went through a minor overhaul in their rotation over the last seven days with the addition of left-hander Justin Steele and the subtraction of right-hander Jake Arrieta, who was released onThursday. The team will also be without right-hander Adbert Alzolay for the next 10 days after he went on the 10-day injured list with a left hamstring strain on Saturday.
The team is going to need innings from its rotation and after several blowout losses during their 11-game losing streak, the bullpen has had an extended workload.
One way to do that is getting more starts like Zach Davies’ outing on Saturday. Davies looked like the pitcher he’s been throughout his career, allowing no earned runs over six innings.
“[We have] a lot of guys that are young, guys that don’t have a lot of big time here,” Davies said. “They’re seeing this version of our team where we can still battle. We can still fight and try and make it hard on teams that we do play that are in the playoffs and make it a little bit more difficult to not just be another game.”
Cubs trying to weather August storm
There was no doubt that things were going to get more challenging for the Cubs following the trade deadline and that has come to fruition. The Cubs’ loss on Sunday was the team’s 11th loss in a row, tying their longest losing streak of the season.
The Cubs were in the game in Sunday’s series finale as they looked to snap their 10-game skid against the Marlins, trailing 2-1 in the seventh inning. But the game got away in the inning as Jake Jewell allowed a two-run home run to Jesus Aguilar to make it a 4-1 game.
The Cubs are now 1-14 in the month of August, including a 0-7 homestand last week and pitching has played a big part in that. The team has a 7.69 ERA this month, their highest ERA in any month this season.
“Obviously, losing is not fun,” said starter Alec Mills, who allowed two runs over 5 2/3 innings in the loss. “Winning is a lot more fun. A bad stretch for us and I think we’re just trying to attack every day with positivity and really just trying to come together as a team.”
from Chicago Sun-Times - All https://ift.tt/3m6H4S6
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