CINCINNATI — The Chicago Cubs’ search for consistency continues.
The Cubs haven’t won more than two games in a row in nearly six weeks when they strung together four consecutive victories from April 23-26. Opportunities to take advantage of playing division rivals in the last three weeks haven’t yielded the results they’ve needed, with Thursday’s 8-4 loss to the Cincinnati Reds the latest game example. They fell to 31-32 with the loss.
Trying to build positive momentum from series to series becomes more challenging when the highs are interrupted so quickly by the lows. Thursday’s loss highlighted both sides of the Cubs’ efforts to get on an extended roll.
Highs
Middle of the order showing slug
If the Cubs are going to become a playoff team this season, they need the middle of the lineup — namely Seiya Suzuki, Cody Bellinger and Christopher Morel — to produce consistently.
The trio accounted for four of the Cubs’ five hits Thursday with three going for extra bases. Suzuki and Morel each connected for two-run homers, and Bellinger’s double in the sixth preceded Morel’s 415-foot blast to center field.
“He’s had some big swings lately for sure, and we’re starting to see him drive the baseball, which we need so good signs for sure,” manager Craig Counsell said of Suzuki. “It feels like the middle-of-the- order guys are where they need to be. It’s not the same guy every day. With the different guys that leads to consistent run scoring, and that’s what we’re going to need.”
The home runs gave Suzuki and Morel three in each of their last seven games. Morel in particular is finally starting to reap the benefits to a consistent approach through extreme unluckiness this season.
“Just staying positive, forgetting what happened in the past, not focusing on that,” Morel said through an interpreter. “Always keeping my head high and most importantly just being surrounded by great teammates that are there to cheer me up.”
Lows
Pitching regression
The pitching staff, especially the starters, have carried the Cubs for most of the first two-plus months of the season.
Expecting them to be able to do that for the entire season felt unrealistic, in part because of the inexperienced arms they have relied on for stretches and the slim margin of error they are operating on because of an inconsistent offense.
Right-hander Javier Assad allowed five runs in 5 2/3 innings Thursday. The biggest blow came in the third: Elly De La Cruz hit a three-run homer on a laser to right field to put the Reds ahead.
“I felt good out there,” Assad said through an interpreter. “The thing that hurt the most was that home run — it kind of crumbled from there.”
Assad’s outing was the third straight shaky performance from their starter.
“Everything matters in a game,” Counsell said. “You’re gonna play different types of games and it’s a group effort to win a baseball game.”
Inning unravels after missed call
Rookie right-hander Porter Hodge appeared to get out of the seventh having maintained the Cubs’ one-run deficit.
Hodge entered with a runner on first and nobody out in the seventh, promptly retiring the first two Reds he faced on five pitches. He got ahead of Tyler Stephenson and fired a 1-2 fastball down and away but clearly in the zone. However, plate umpire Adrian Johnson called it a ball to even the count. Hodge struggled to get back locked in and ultimately walked Stephenson.
The sequence was the beginning of nine consecutive balls thrown by Hodge, who walked three straight batters to bring in a run as the Reds extended their lead to 6-4.
“There may have been a pitch in there that we could have got, maybe we should have got,” Counsell said. “There’s still three walks in the board there and you got to avoid that.”