Wicks roughed up early as streaky Cubs drop 10th straight game

PITTSBURGH -- The most consistent trait of the 2026 Cubs has been ... their inconsistency. The club's puzzlingly erratic play hit a historic milestone with Tuesday night's 12-1 defeat to the Pirates at PNC Park, the 10th straight loss for a team that has also reeled off two 10-game winning streaks this season.

The Cubs, who hadn't lost 10 consecutive games since June 2022, joined the 2017 Dodgers as the only teams in AL/NL history with two 10-game winning streaks and one 10-game losing streak in the same season, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

“Every single one of us has had moments or games during this streak where we really could have made a difference, but we haven’t done it,” Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner said. “At a certain point, we just need to step up, make plays, and win moments. All of us.”

The Cubs faced an immediate hurdle when left-hander Jordan Wicks allowed five first-inning runs -- a far cry from his remarkable MLB debut along the banks of the Allegheny River in 2023.

In all, Wicks was charged with eight runs in 4 1/3 innings as he allowed nine hits, struck out five and walked one.

The Cubs recalled Wicks from Triple-A Iowa on Sunday to help bolster an injury-ravaged rotation. But the Pirates struck quickly in the first, with Bryan Reynolds hitting a two-run double and rookie Esmerlyn Valdez capping the inning with a two-run home run.

In Wicks' victorious debut on Aug. 26, 2023, he allowed the first three batters to reach base but bounced back to retire 15 in a row.

That wasn’t the case this time around.

“I was too amped up,” Wicks said. “I had a lot of adrenaline, and it’s difficult to execute pitches in that situation. When you set the tone with a four-pitch walk [to leadoff hitter Konnor Griffin] on four non-competitive pitches, it sets a bad tone. You can’t go out there and put your team in a hole like that, especially in a situation like this. This one is on me.”

Alex Bregman and Carson Kelly each had two of the Cubs’ eight hits on Tuesday. Back-to-back doubles by Bregman and Ian Happ in the second inning accounted for the lone run.

However, Chicago finished 1-for-13 with runners in scoring position and stranded 11 runners. The Cubs have scored three runs or fewer eight times during their losing streak.

“Somebody has got to step up and get a big hit in big spots,” manager Craig Counsell said. “There’s not much more to say after that. You’ve got to conduct a big league professional at-bat at some point. Those are the at-bats you should want during a game, those at-bats that can make a difference.

“And you’ve got to deliver. It’s a league of production. If you don’t deliver, then we’ll be talking about the same thing again.”