A Chicago Cubs offense in need of a breakout game got its antidote in the form of Milwaukee Brewers left-hander Aaron Ashby.
The Cubs ambushed Ashby in his major league debut, scoring seven runs and knocking him out of Wednesday’s game in the first inning. The seven runs exceeded the Cubs’ total in their previous three games (six) and sent 12 batters to the plate in the process.
And yet, incredibly, those runs weren’t enough. Not even close.
Right-hander Jake Arrieta imploded and the bullpen allowed an eight-run inning en route to a 15-7 blowout loss, their sixth consecutive.
Arrieta failed to deliver a competitive start despite being spotted a 7-0 lead before he took the mound. The Brewers scored a run in the bottom of the first and stranded the bases loaded, but they picked up where they left off in the second, tagging Arrieta for five runs.
Three of those were unearned after a poor throw by Arrieta on a dribbler resulted in a collision at first base in which Patrick Wisdom took the brunt of the blow from the runner. Wisdom left the game with right neck tightness and a left eye bruise but did not show immediate concussion symptoms.
Fittingly, Wednesday’s meltdown occurred at the official midpoint of the Cubs season. Instead of snapping their losing streak and gaining a game on division-leading Milwaukee, the Cubs enter July with a 42-39 record and sit six games out of first.
The Cubs are on the verge of finally getting healthy. There is a possibility Nico Hoerner will be activated during the weekend series in Cincinnati. David Bote should be starting a rehab assignment soon. Trevor Williams continues to build up. Justin Steele could soon boost the bullpen. The Cubs hope Anthony Rizzo (lower back) and Kris Bryant (right side soreness) are back in the lineup in the coming days.
And yet that help might be too late at this rate. Before the blowout win-turned-loss Wednesday, Cubs manager David Ross said he doesn’t think about how his team is closer to getting important pieces back: “I don’t stew on things I can’t control.”
“We have a professional group that understands it’s a long season and there’s going to be these moments, but the potential to be a great team is there and kind of right around the corner,” Ross said. “And I think we show signs of that nightly. I think there’s still moments where we see a lot of depth pieces that are going to help us out throughout the season when those guys do get back and are healthy. We’ve just got to get to that point.”
At some point, the Cubs front office will commit to an organizational direction, whether it be trading assets or adding reinforcements, ahead of the July 31 trade deadline. The team’s recent play has not helped build a case that the Cubs should make significant moves to improve the roster. Within a week, the Cubs have torpedoed their standing in the division after successfully weathering the storm, as they’ve called it, through much of their challenging June schedule.
Instead of a potentially momentum-building win heading into Thursday’s off day, the Cubs prepare for a series against the Reds, who could pass them into second place in the division before the opener Friday at Great American Ball Park.
