Cubs Tied for a Season-Long Losing Streak and Other Bullets

wrigley scoreboard featureI have a box of Archway Frosty Lemon cookies sitting next to me in my office. That’s a terrible idea.

  • The Cubs’ current four-game losing streak matches their longest of the season, the latter two games of which also came in St. Louis. The Cubs ended that streak in St. Louis, as well. Hopefully that’s an omen for the end of this streak tonight, as well.
  • Leaving this seven-game stretch against the Dodgers and Cardinals at 3-4 wouldn’t be the worst outcome in the world. At 2-5 including a sweep by the Cardinals? Yeah, that’d be pretty close to as bad as it gets. And, with an off-day tomorrow, the pain and frustration would last a long time. Quite a swing game tonight, I suppose. Jason Hammel faces Carlos Martinez – the last time the Cubs faced Martinez, they rocked him for five runs in the first inning. Nobody say anything about what happened thereafter.
  • The Cubs have just 4 hits in their 27 at bats with runners in scoring position during their four-game losing streak. Now, with the benefit of some sleep behind me, I can say: that stuff doesn’t last. The Cubs will generally have a lower average with RISP than most teams due to their strikeout tendencies, but they aren’t going to hit .148 forever.
  • Relatedly, and presented without mystical comment: the Cardinals’ pitching staff has limited opposing batters to an hilarious .190/.277/.281 line with runners in scoring position this year, despite a .261/.312/.389 with the bases empty. That is not only the reverse of what you’d expect, it’s an extreme version of it.
  • Kris Bryant says he’s not feeling tired or anything like that as he deals with a cold stretch (ESPN).
  • Paul Sullivan writes about the enduring – or not – relevance of the Old Scoreboard in center field at Wrigley, now that we’ve entered the age of video boards at the Friendly Confines.
  • Andrew McCutchen left his game yesterday after being hit on the elbow by a pitch, but X-rays came back negative (Pirates.com).
  • He wasn’t facing the Cubs in this series, but Jaime Garcia – who, as always, is pitching very well for the Cardinals when he’s able to take the mound – might miss his next start with a groin issue.
  • If you missed it earlier this morning, Neil Ramirez is coming back.
  • This is magnificent:
  • written by

    Brett Taylor is the Lead Cubs Writer at Bleacher Nation, and you can find him on Twitter at @BleacherNation and on LinkedIn here. Brett is also the founder of Bleacher Nation, which opened up shop in 2008 as an independent blog about the Chicago Cubs. Later growing to incorporate coverage of other Chicago sports, Bleacher Nation is now one of the largest regional sports blogs on the web.

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