MILWAUKEE -- Ian Happ tossed away his bat and spiked his helmet to the dirt in frustration on Tuesday night. The Cubs outfielder had just swung through a slider from Brewers reliever Jake Cousins, stranding the bases loaded in a crucial seventh inning.
It was a moment that undid a promising two-out rally and sent the Cubs on their way to a 2-1 defeat at American Family Field. With the loss -- the fifth in a row for Chicago -- the North Sliders slipped five games behind the National League Central-leading Brewers.
There is no getting around the importance of Wednesday's finale in Milwaukee.
"If you get swept, that's six games back. That's a big number," Cubs manager David Ross said before Tuesday's loss. "We are at the halfway point, but they all matter, especially when you're playing in division."
During a pregame chat with reporters, Ross was asked why he believes that his team has what it takes to pick things up in the second half en route to a place on the October stage. Let's walk through a few comments from within the manager's answer.
"I think we can pitch better. I think a lot of those guys expect more out of themselves. We've got a guy with a proven track record in Kyle [Hendricks] that's throwing the ball really well for us."
Ross has started referring to it as "Win Day" when Hendricks takes the mound, and for good reason. The leader of Chicago's rotation has not lost since May 9, going 8-0 with a 2.64 ERA in nine turns in that stretch. He has been the front man the Cubs have required.
The starting staff as a whole, however, has plenty of room for improvement. Overall, the Cubs' rotation has a 4.62 ERA on the season. Only the Pirates (5.28) and D-backs (5.38) have higher marks in the NL.
And while Zach Davies has been better over the past month-plus -- highlighted by starting Chicago's combined no-hitter on Thursday against the Dodgers -- his four-inning outing Tuesday resurfaced a season-long trend. The Cubs' starters have been pulled before completing five innings 30 times this year.
"We've got one of the best bullpens in the game.”
That is true. After Tuesday’s loss, the Cubs held a 2.91 bullpen ERA, which ranked second in the Majors even after a 10-run disaster in the previous game. The trio of Craig Kimbrel, Andrew Chafin and Ryan Tepera have led the way with a 1.94 ERA as a unit. The group has the look of an October-ready cast.
That said, Tepera landed on the 10-day injured list Tuesday due to a left calf issue. The continued shortcomings of the rotation also threaten to wear down the relief corps as a whole as the summer turns to fall. The bullpen has been an unquestioned strength, but Ross has already asked a lot of the group with at least three months to go.
"We've got star players that still are having ups and downs in their season and still have much more to offer."
The Cubs' two best offensive performers from the abbreviated 2020 season -- Happ and Jason Heyward -- have yet to find the same rhythm this year. Happ's 0-for-4 showing Tuesday dropped his wRC+ to 88. Heyward's wRC+ sits at 74 at the moment. Chicago needs more from that duo, along with some upticks in performance from others up and down the order.
"I like the way it looks when we're healthy. Nico [Hoerner] is coming back. And hopefully [Matt] Duffy, maybe a little bit after the All-Star break."
Hoerner and Duffy (both on the IL) are hardly offensive saviors, but their contact-based bats have been sorely missed in Chicago's lineup this month. Their presence in the order had a hard-to-quantify impact on the more whiff-or-slug bats around them in May, when the Cubs hit .263/.336/.429 as a team.
After Tuesday's loss, the Cubs were batting .186/.260/.371 in June and were riding a franchise-record streak of five straight games with at least 12 strikeouts.
Compounding things Tuesday was the absence of Kris Bryant (right side) and Anthony Rizzo (back). That led to backup catcher Jose Lobaton being summoned as a pinch-hitter against closer Josh Hader with the game on the line in the ninth. He grounded out, injured his right shoulder on the game's final play and put a period on a 1-for-10 showing with runners in scoring position.
"We've proven that we can beat some of the best teams in baseball, for sure."
Ross cited the Cubs' performance against teams like the Dodgers, Padres and Mets -- three clubs in postseason position at the moment. Indeed, Chicago has gone a combined 13-7 against those teams. That includes sweeps against L.A. and San Diego at Wrigley Field.
More to the point, however, is Chicago's performance to date within the division. Excluding the rebuilding Pirates, the Cubs are 11-12 against the Reds, Cardinals and Brewers. Against Milwaukee, the North Siders are now 3-8 with a minus-18 run differential.
"It's frustrating. There's not much to it," Cubs outfielder Joc Pederson said. "We're not playing great baseball right now, especially playing the team in first place. You really want to cut down on that lead. We're just not taking care of business."