The Cubs ended their road trip in a seriously frustrating way, dropping the series finale 2-0 to the Diamondbacks and finishing the trip with a dismal 2-4 record. What makes it sting even more? Arizona totally outscored them 11-7 across the three games, but the D-backs just spread those runs out better. It’s a tough pill to swallow when your pitchers are dealing, and your offense just evaporates into thin air.
Pitching Prowess Wasted By Vanishing Offense
Seriously, the pitching in this series? Outstanding! Cubs starters Kevin Gausman, Clay Holmes, and Matthew Boyd combined for eight hits and a single run allowed over 20 innings. That’s just elite stuff. In Wednesday’s game, Boyd was electric, giving up only one run. Unfortunately, that one run was a Jordan Lawlar homer, the only real mistake Boyd made. Homers have been a bit of a thing for Boyd, with that making 13 in 73 innings since he came back from his knee injury. But overall, it was a very good outing. He went at least six innings, gave up one run on a homer, and allowed just three total hits. That’s a performance that should win games.
That Balk Call and The Hitless Drought
The real kicker? The offense disappeared faster than a free T-shirt at a game. Eduardo Rodriguez, Brandyn Garcia, and Juan Morillo from the D-backs held the Cubs scoreless on just two hits. Two! Tyrone Taylor finally broke the hitless drought with a single in the fifth, but he got stranded after stealing second. It was the longest the Cubs had gone without a hit this season, a whopping four innings, only previously surpassed once on August 14 against the Cardinals. Later, Nico Hoerner managed another single, but it wasn’t enough.
Then came the sixth inning. Pete Crow-Armstrong led off with a double, got to third, and that’s when the chaos hit. Everyone on the Cubs thought Rodriguez stepped off the rubber, however briefly, before the pitch, which would have been a balk. A balk means PCA walks home, and the Cubs get a crucial run. But the umpires, after conferring, basically shrugged it off with “we didn’t see it,” and you can’t review that! PCA was absolutely livid, and third base coach Quintin Berry had to physically hold him back. You know it’s bad when your guy is ready to go head-to-head with an umpire. What a brutal break, and naturally, PCA was stranded. It just summarizes the entire offensive struggle and the series loss.
Coming off a 2-4 road trip, the Cubs have got to shake off the frustration of excellent pitching being totally wasted. They’re heading home now, and they need to find their bats again, or this kind of offensive drought is going to haunt them all season long.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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