ATLANTA -- In the wake of the latest lull from the Cubs’ offense, manager Craig Counsell was blunt in his assessment on Monday night.
“Offensively, we did nothing for five innings,” Counsell said after a 4-1 loss to the Braves. “I mean, we did zero for five innings. You can’t just give the other team 15 outs in a game to start the game. You’re putting yourselves against the wall.”
For the first few months of this season, Chicago rolled out a lineup that was operating as one of the deepest and most productive units in the Major Leagues. While there have been outbursts in recent weeks offering promise of a resurgence, there have also been persistent droughts that have mostly defined the offense since the All-Star break.
And there have been plenty of examples of a night like Monday, when Cubs lefty Shota Imanaga offered a steady hand to buy the offense time. Even after a quick first-inning lapse, Imanaga notched a career-best streak with his seventh consecutive quality start. It went for naught, as Chicago could not solve Braves righty Bryce Elder.
That was an especially frustrating component for the North Siders, too. They just saw Elder on Wednesday in Wrigley Field, where he handcuffed the lineup for seven innings and allowed one unearned run. This time around, Elder went 6 1/3 frames and his lone run came after his exit via a Matt Shaw sacrifice fly.
That was that.
“I personally would rather see a pitcher twice in a row,” Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner said. “I think it generally would play to the hitter’s favor, but I chased the same pitches I did last week. At the end of the day, it’s just about competing today. We just didn’t have enough traffic on the bases and never got the big swing.”
Hoerner doubled to lead off the seventh inning -- Chicago’s lone extra-base hit in the loss -- and came around to score for the Cubs’ only run. One inning earlier, the Cubs loaded the bases with two outs, but Pete Crow-Armstrong grounded out on the first pitch he received. Overall, Chicago was set down in order six times on the night.
“No matter who we're facing, we put up one run,” Counsell said. “Six one-two-three innings? That’s not going to work.”
Counsell was asked if he spotted an underlying theme to the at-bats gone wrong.
“Outs,” replied the manager.
With the National League Central-leading Brewers also losing on Monday night, the Cubs remained 7 1/2 games back in the division race with 18 games left to play. Chicago remained in the driver’s seat for the NL’s top Wild Card spot and Fangraphs currently gives the North Siders 99.5% odds of reaching the playoffs.
That said, the Cubs need their lineup to get over this start-and-stall period by the time October arrives.
Take the last couple weeks as an example. The Cubs scored eight runs total in a three-game set in San Francisco and then poured out 11 runs on Aug. 29 in Colorado. They scored seven on Sept. 1 against Atlanta, but then managed five the next two games combined. Chicago ran it up to 11 runs in a win over the Nationals on Friday – only to score four the next two.
“There’s no doubt,” Hoerner said, “that we have the pieces and talent and guys in the room to put up a lot of runs on any given night. That consistency, it doesn’t come from a team meeting and the whole team committing to one thing. We do have different skillsets, but there is an intensity and competitiveness that we all feed off each other when it’s rolling.”
The offense also needs its catalysts to get rolling again, too.
Kyle Tucker (left calf) has missed the last week due to a minor injury. Crow-Armstrong was the designated hitter on Monday to help his right knee (bruised by a foul ball on Saturday). Michael Busch (.623 OPS in the second half) and Seiya Suzuki (.594 OPS in the second half) are working to find their footing.
“Look, we’ve got very good hitters that we’ve got to get back on track,” Counsell said. “And they will. They will. But, it’s time to do it.”
If the hitters are feeling pressure to turn things around, Hoerner did not necessarily view that as a negative.
“A healthy amount of pressure can be a good thing, too. We do have a lot at stake,” Hoerner said. “It’s a chance to embrace it and play our best ball down the stretch here, wherever that puts us playoff-picture wise.”