Cubs Drop Two of Three against Cardinals, Offense Continues to Struggle

By: Zach Jonkman

The Cubs and Cardinals came into the weekend with one intention in mind. Make up ground on the Brewers for first in the division. After the final out in the ninth on Father’s Day, the Cardinals found themselves taking two out of three against the Cubs and inching closer to the .500 mark on the year.

However, the Cubs have a much bigger problem on their hands than just dropping a couple games at home against a division rival. Their bats just cannot create sustainable offense to save their lives, and it might end up costing them a playoff spot come October.

Chicago sprinted out of the gates on an absolute tear in the first month of the season. They started out 17-10 in the month of April and won 6 of 11 to start May. A 23-15 record and the top spot in the division halfway through the second month of the season is a great start. Outside of the bullpen blowing six leads in the 8th inning and later, everything seemed to be going according to plan. 

They were hitting over .235 and had an on base percentage of over .300 as well through that time. There was just an overall positive vibe around the offense and starting pitching staff to start the year. 

Unfortunately for them, that vibe would turn sour very quickly. The Cubs have been horrid offensively since May 13th and posted a 10-22 record. They have also had a .210 batting average  and .290 on base percentage in that time as well. The pitching staff has been relatively similar to the first month and a half, but the offense failed to provide run support with an uninspiring 3.32 runs per game in the span. Compared to their 4.36 runs per game prior to May 13th, they just have not gotten the job done enough times. 

A perfect example of this is this home series against St. Louis. They scored 6 total runs in 3 games against the Cardinals, 5 of which came on Saturday in the 5-1 win. One run in the two games bookending the series just cannot sit right with manager Craig Counsel. 

There may be a couple solutions to this struggling Cubs offense. The first is rearranging the lineup to find a batting order that clicks. Counsel has tried this multiple times already in this slump, but maybe there’s an order out there that will work. 

Next, they can change their approach when it comes to hitting at the plate. Working more walks and making the opposing pitcher throw more pitches earlier in the ball game could provide some extra run support as well. 

Finally, they can seek help from the outside at the trade deadline. Bats like Pete Alonso and Vladimir Gurrero Jr. could be bought for the right combination of prospects and jumpstart this slow offense rather quickly. 

The Cubs will not make the postseason with the pace they are on. The NL is weak, but the Cubs need to improve their offense if they want to make a run of any kind later this season. Both internal and external fixes need to be made, but they need to be made sooner rather than later.