Cubs hope to avoid tying ignominious record

With a defeat Saturday, the Cubs would tie a team record for consecutive losses at home. | Getty

With a defeat Saturday against the Royals, the Cubs would lose their 12th straight at home, matching a franchise record set in 1994. 

Over the last few years, the Cubs have made a lot of history. More could be coming, but not the kind they’d like to see.

With a defeat Saturday against the Royals, the Cubs would lose their 12th straight at home, matching a franchise record set in 1994.

Since their last home win on July 26 (before the purge that sent away Kris Bryant, Javy Baez, Anthony Rizzo and Craig Kimbrel), the Cubs have been outscored 86-30 and batted .215 as a team at Wrigley Field. On the mound, Cubs pitchers have compiled a 7.69 ERA.

Cubs manager David Ross said he wasn’t aware of the streak and its historical implications, and when he was filled in didn’t seem too interested in the stat.

“We’re just trying to win baseball games,” Ross said. “I did not know that. I try to forget every loss.”

Ross doubted that the players knew about the streak, too.

“We’re trying to win on a daily basis,” Ross said. “I don’t think we get too caught up in streaks. We go out and do our best every single day. If those losses pile up, that definitely [stinks], but we’re trying to win them all.”

Dreaming of Iowa
As expected, Major League Baseball announced Friday that the Cubs would play the Reds in next year’s Field of Dreams Game in Dyersville, Iowa. The Cubs’ participation in the Aug. 11, 2022 spectacle was expected after Ross spilled the beans about it earlier this month.

Now that it’s official, Ross was able to speak about the trip more freely, saying he’s excited about the event and looking forward to experiencing something unique along with the players and the coaching staff.

“That’s going to be a tough ticket to get,” Ross said. “That’s a really neat environment there, the corn fields, the classic, the movie throwback that any baseball fan probably grew up watching and loves.”

The first Field of Dreams game will be a tough act for the Cubs and Reds to follow after Tim Anderson’s walk-off homer gave the White Sox a 9-8 win over the Yankees.

“It was pretty good,” Ross said. “That was definitely the movie ending they wanted between those two teams and the back and forth right there at the end of the game is pretty hard to replicate, but we’ll do our best to win the game. That’s all I care about.”

Roster moves
After being designated for assignment Tuesday, reliever Dan Winkler was placed on unconditional release waivers. Outfielder Johneshwy Vargas, who was DFA’d on Wednesday, cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Iowa.

Reliever Jake Jewell was optioned to Iowa to make room for Saturday starter Keegan Thompson.

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