The Cubs spent Friday taking a beating in the worst possible place on the calendar, and the damage may end up being bigger than the scoreboard. Chicago dropped both ends of a doubleheader to the Red Sox, falling 4-3 in the opener before getting shut out 2-0 in the nightcap, a pair of losses that nearly locks them into opening the Wild Card series on the road.
Now the Cubs need help and a win. They’ll have to beat Boston on Sunday and hope the Padres get swept by the Diamondbacks if they want to secure home-field advantage. Otherwise, the postseason begins away from Wrigley Field.
That final regular-season game will be played in Tampa Bay, not Boston, after both clubs were moved because of storms heading toward the East Coast. It closes out a rough September for Chicago, which has gone 10-13 this month and is limping into October.
The offense never really found a rhythm across the two games. Tyrone Taylor was the only Cub to record an extra-base hit, and the rest of the lineup kept stacking singles without ever landing the punch that could flip either game. Chicago scored once off Taylor’s double in the first inning of Game 1, then managed only singles over the final 17 innings of the day.
In all, the Cubs finished with 14 hits, seven in each game, but went just 2-for-15 with runners in scoring position and stranded 14 runners. They drew five walks on the day, though only one came in the second game. After the second inning of Game 1, the bats went quiet, and Game 2 felt like a team waiting for the end.
Craig Counsell said after the sweep that the weather played a role in the doubleheader losses. Boston, for its part, handled the day with a bullpen game in the opener and only two pitchers in the second game.
Still, the bigger concern for Chicago is how quickly the power disappeared. Over the last 30 days, the Cubs had ranked third in home runs with 41, third in RBI with 139, fifth in walk rate at 10%, second in strikeout rate at 18.4%, and first in team fWAR at 6.8.
That group should have done more damage than this.
There were a few bright spots on the mound. Clay Holmes, David Peterson and Javier Assad all showed well enough, and Peterson in particular is making his case for a postseason start if the Cubs get beyond the Wild Card round.
Peterson allowed no earned runs over five innings, giving up three hits while striking out six. He’s been rolling lately, allowing one run or fewer in each of his last four starts, with six or more strikeouts in his last three.
Holmes wasn’t as sharp. He lasted 4.1 innings, gave up three runs, two earned, on five hits and was lifted with runners on first and second in the bottom of the fifth.
He threw 78 pitches, which is not what Counsell wanted out of him in a doubleheader. Given the way the bullpen has looked, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Holmes ends up in relief in the Wild Card series.
His background helps there. He has experience as a starter in the playoffs and as a closer in the World Series, and that flexibility could matter if Chicago needs to patch together innings.
The Cubs now get Saturday off before finishing the regular season against the Red Sox in Tampa Bay. Justin Steele also remains a storyline to watch.
He traveled to Boston and is expected to be around the team in an unofficial role through the rest of the playoffs. A meaningful postseason return feels unlikely, but the Cubs are at least exploring whether he can get a rehab start.
At the very least, seeing Steele back in a major league setting would be a boost for the staff.
As for the playoff picture, the Padres are close to locking up the top Wild Card spot. If the Cubs finish second, they would head to San Diego for a rematch of the 2025 Wild Card series. If they slip to third, the trip would be to Atlanta to face the NL East champion Braves.
For now, the Cubs are left waiting on Saturday’s results to see whether Sunday still matters.
In Other News...
Red Sox Suddenly Need One Last Infield Bat To Make It Back
The late-season infield picture has gotten a little more complicated for Boston, and it arrives at a time when every available bat matters. Willson Contreras is dealing with pain in his right hand after being hit by a pitch, which puts his postseason status in doubt, while trade deadline addition Curtis Mead is pushing through recovery from a fractured wrist and has started taking batting practice.
Mead has been out since July 27 and, if the Red Sox decide he is ready, he would come back without a rehab assignment. There is still only a slim chance he is activated before the Wild Card round, but Boston suddenly finds itself monitoring one last infield option that could help deepen the bench at exactly the right moment. [Read more 🡒]
Garrett Crochet Gave Red Sox Fans An October Ace Performance To Remember
Garrett Crochet gave the Red Sox exactly the kind of October opening they were hoping for when he took the ball in Game 1 of the 2025 wild-card series against the Yankees. After an early home run put Boston in a hole, he settled in and put together the kind of outing that defines an ace in the postseason, working deep into the game, missing bats and keeping New York from building on its start.
Crochet went 7.2 innings, struck out 11 and did not issue a walk while allowing just four hits on 117 pitches, even retiring 17 straight batters during one dominant stretch. Boston still lost the series, but the left-handers effort stood out as one of the most memorable Red Sox performances of the season and gave fans a glimpse of what a true October starter looks like. [Read more 🡒]
Brock Holt Gave The Yankees A Night Red Sox Fans Still Treasure
Brock Holts October heroics still sit neatly in the Red Sox memory bank, especially the night he turned Yankee Stadium into the backdrop for a piece of baseball history. In Game 3 of the American League Division Series in 2018, Holt hit the first cycle ever in the postseason, a rare feat that helped fuel Bostons runaway 16-1 win and swung a tense series firmly in the Red Soxs direction.
It was the kind of performance that fit the way that team operated all fall, with different players stepping forward at different moments on the way to the World Series title. Holt kept his fingerprints on the championship run after that, too, including a key run in Game 3 against the Dodgers, another reminder that Bostons title was built as much on timely surprises as on the stars everyone expected. [Read more 🡒]