For 1.5 innings, it looked like the Cubs were gonna end the losing streak. But then the bottom of the 2nd happened – all 11(!) runs of it – and that was the ballgame.
The Cubs actually made a go of coming back in this one, with the tying run in the hole in the 9th (i.e., just behind the guy on deck), but a 10-run deficit is just a touch too much.
Adbert Alzolay struggled, again, before leaving with an apparent leg issue. Dan Winkler got blown up upon being brought into try to stem the bleeding. Rex Brothers gave up a two-run homer. The rest of the bullpen – the new/fill-in guys – was actually great the rest of the way, including Rowan Wick getting his second scoreless outing since returning from the IL. The Cubs are very savvily getting a lot of their relievers extreme low leverage situations so they can work on their pitches!
It was another big night for Frank Schwindel and Robinson Chirinos, a sentence that would’ve been unthinkably weird a few months ago. Ian Happ and David Bote also had good nights, with Patrick Wisdom the lone straggler on offense.