Two flaws exposed as Cubs fall into 2nd place

MILWAUKEE -- There are times throughout a season when teams feel the importance placed on a game or series externally is overblown. This is not one of those moments for the Cubs.

Chicago is in the midst of a nine-game stretch against the Brewers and Cardinals, and five days remain until Wednesday's Trade Deadline. Each game has an impact on the tight National League Central race and the performance by certain individuals -- not just on the Cubs, but around the Majors -- could influence how clubs approach trade talks.

"They're big games," president of baseball operations Theo Epstein said prior to the Cubs' 3-2 loss to the Brewers on Friday night at Miller Park. "The team that plays the best against the division the rest of the way, is probably going to be the team that wins the division. So they're meaningful games.

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"And then the games before the Deadline just seem to take on extra meaning, too, because you're trying to assess where you are, where the other teams are. Some teams are literally going to make the decision to buy or sell based on how they perform these last six games or so."

Friday's loss dropped the Cubs into second place in the division -- one game back of the rival Cardinals, who are alone atop the NL Central for the first time since May 6. The Brewers are now just one game behind Chicago, which has 38 of its final 59 games against division foes.

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With the upcoming Deadline in mind, a couple of the Cubs' issues were highlighted within Friday's defeat at Miller Park.

Improving vs. lefties
Ahead of Friday's game, Epstein was asked if he had any theories behind the Cubs' struggles against left-handed pitching this season.

"I don't know," Epstein admitted. "If there's one thing I would've thought for sure at the beginning of the year, it's that we would thrive against left-handed pitching and lefty starters. So, I don't know. But, I think that's just the nature of splits sometimes."

Then, Chicago was no-hit through five innings by Brewers lefty Gio Gonzalez, who sat around 90-91 mph with his fastball and eventually exited after 6 1/3 innings with a shoulder issue. In the sixth, the Cubs finally broke through with an infield single by Albert Almora Jr. and a two-run homer off the bat of David Bote.

It was fitting that Almora and Bote came through, given their role in the team-wide woes against southpaws this season. Entering Friday, Chicago ranked eighth in the NL in wRC+ (95), ninth in OPS (.755) and 13th in average (.239) against left-handers. Almora (33 wRC+ and .512 OPS) and Bote (52 wRC+ and .583 OPS) are two hitters the Cubs felt they could count on in that regard this year.

Cubs manager Joe Maddon tried to inject some life into the lineup Friday by starting lefty-masher Willson Contreras in the leadoff spot. He went 0-for-4. Overall, Chicago ended the evening with only four hits, including two from Kris Bryant.

Epstein is also doing what he can by canvassing the trade market for potential help.

"I still think we project really well going forward against lefties," Epstein said. "But, we're at the point of the season where, if you haven't done it, you have to contemplate some tweaks to get better."

Helping the bullpen
In his discussion with reporters on Friday, Epstein issued a reminder for anyone expecting the Cubs to go out and reel in any blockbuster relief pitchers prior to Wednesday's 3 p.m. CT Deadline.

"We did make a really significant addition with Craig Kimbrel," Epstein said. "And we had to dig really deep and get really creative financially to make that happen. So, as we look at the totality of what we've done, we are factoring that in, too.

"And I'm not trying to lower expectations or lower the bar for what we're trying to accomplish, but as we look at it, that did eat up a lot of, if not basically all of, our financial flexibility and addressed a real need."

The Cubs signed Kimbrel in June to a three-year, $43 million contract to lock down the ninth inning. On the trade front, Chicago recently shipped struggling lefty Mike Montgomery to Kansas City for catcher Martin Maldonado and on Friday acquired lefty Derek Holland from the Giants for cash considerations. The idea is to have Holland help neutralize lefty hitters.

Holland was not with the Cubs yet on Friday, however, and a chain reaction -- beginning with starter Kyle Hendricks being pulled after five innings -- led to a bullpen breakdown in the eighth. Brandon Kintzler issued a walk and hit a batter to put two on with one out for Pedro Strop, who Maddon was trying to avoid using. Strop then hit Ryan Braun and later yielded a go-ahead, two-run single to Ben Gamel.

"That's a lonely feeling. I've been there -- plenty of times," Kintzler said of the struggling Strop, who entered the night with a 9.45 ERA in his last seven games. "He'll be fine. He had a good inning the other day. And today, that's my fault for putting him in that situation."

The situation on a broader scale has Epstein seeing what else might be available externally to further strengthen the relief corps.

"If some of the other moves are a little bit more off the radar the way the Holland one was," Epstein said, "but we think it helps us, we're not going to be disappointed if we can't execute a big deal. ... We're trying to do everything we can to help this team."