If the Cubs are going to go on a run to finish out the season and lock up a playoff spot, they sure didn’t look like that team on Wednesday.
The Cubs lost 4-0 to the Padres, but it was the way they lost that will sting the most for Cubs fans. To start with the obvious, getting shutout never feels good, but beyond that, there were other mistakes that were hard to watch.
Padres starter Chris Paddack gave up hard contact early, but that hard contact didn’t find holes in the defense. Paddack struck out seven and gave up just three hits in a walk over six innings. The Cubs went down in order in the final three innings against the Padres bullpen, finishing with three hits on the night.
The Padres’ second run is one to forget for a Cubs fan. With runners on first and third and two outs in the bottom of the sixth, Ty France attempted to steal home. Willson Contreras recognized France was running before Brad Wieck delivered his pitch and asked for a pitch out, but Wieck fired it to the backstop, over Contreras’ head. France should have been out by so much that he even stopped halfway between third and home before seeing the errant throw.
That’s some strong symbolism of the state of the 2019 Cubs.
On the pitching side, Cole Hamels wasn’t bad, but he labored through 4 1/3 innings. He only gave up one run and had six strikeouts, but was in trouble all game. He walked four and gave up four hits.
Meanwhile, the Milwaukee Brewers have won six straight and have tied the Cubs for the second wild card spot in the National League. The Phillies and Mets are two games back.
MLB
With 18 games left and the next seven games against teams with losing records, the Cubs really need to take advantage of this stretch with the race tightening up. A day after a tough loss in a different way, the follow up wasn't better. Heading into Thursday’s series finale against the Padres looking to get a split is not where the Cubs wanted to be at the start of this series.
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