The Cubs and Astros meet at Wrigley Field on Friday with both clubs trying to put away a bad stretch that has already knocked them down the standings. Chicago has lost nine of its last 11 games since April 9 and fell out of first place, entering the weekend in second, 1 1/2 games behind the Brewers. Houston is 4-8 over the same span, 11 games under.500 and stuck in fourth place in the AL West.
This is the kind of series that can tell a team whether it is fixing anything or just waiting for the calendar to change. The Cubs have scored three runs or fewer in nine of those 11 games, been outscored 59-31, hit only.182 and been outhomered 20-7. The Astros have been nearly as bluntly bad, batting.186, averaging 1.9 runs a game and getting outscored 52-23.
Cubs manager Craig Counsell did not try to soften it. “We’re in a funk right now, and it’s up to us to change it,” he said. The numbers back him up, and they start with the bats. Pete Crow-Armstrong has four hits in his last 37 at-bats. Ian Happ has four hits in his last 37 at-bats. Dansby Swanson is 5-for-34. Moises Ballesteros is 1-for-18, Matt Shaw is hitless in 14 at-bats and Alex Bregman has 12 hits and is batting.286 in the stretch, making him the only player in double digits in hits over the Cubs’ last 11 games.
The pitching has not been able to cover for the offense. In their last two full turns through the rotation, Shota Imanaga is the only Cubs starter with an outing longer than five innings. He threw seven innings and allowed two runs in a 4-1 loss to the Braves, then lasted just 4 1/3 innings and gave up eight runs in a 9-3 loss to the Brewers on Monday night. Jameson Taillon is scheduled to face the Astros on Friday, Colin Rea is lined up for Saturday and the Cubs could know by Friday whether Edward Cabrera can make his next start after he was lifted Wednesday night after one pitch in the fourth inning because of a blister on the middle finger of his pitching hand.
The one wrinkle in the Cubs’ favor is the weather. According to the app Wrigley Winds, the wind will be blowing in for all three games, a factor that could suppress some of the damage both lineups have been trading for weeks. Chicago may also need help from its rotation if Cabrera cannot go. If he is able to pitch, Counsell might give Imanaga a sixth day of rest and turn to Ben Brown on Sunday.
Houston arrives with its own roster stress. The Astros are already missing Hunter Brown and Cristian Javier because of shoulder strains, and they put Lance McCullers on the injured list this week with shoulder inflammation. That has left Spencer Arrighetti, who missed five months last season with a fractured thumb sustained when he was hit by a batted ball in batting practice, as Houston’s best pitcher this season. Yordan Alvarez said the mood has not improved much, either. “I think right now we’re struggling a little bit,” he said.
Christian Walker is part of a team that needs this series more than a weekend distraction. The Cubs are trying to stop a slide that has turned first place into second in less than two weeks, and the Astros are trying to keep their season from drifting deeper under.500. By Sunday night, one of them will have found a small answer, and the other will be left with a longer list of problems than when the series began.
