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...
Cubs Wild Card Push Just Took Another Chaotic Turn
The Cubs final regular-season game will come with a wrinkle nobody in Wrigleyville likely saw coming. Instead of finishing against the Red Sox in Boston, Chicago will meet Boston at Tropicana Field in Tampa Bay on Sunday afternoon after a noreaster forced the series finale out of the Northeast, adding one more layer of unpredictability to a stretch already packed with pressure and travel.
Both clubs are set to head to Tampa Bay after Fridays games so they can get ahead of the storm, with the Cubs and Red Sox wrapping up a doubleheader before the relocation is finalized. The matchup is scheduled for 2:05 p.m. CT, and while the venue change will not alter the standings math, it does turn an already important season-ending game into something a little more chaotic, and a lot less familiar. [Read more 🡒]
Cubs Added A Pitching Depth Arm With A Bigger Role At Stake
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He is not eligible for the Cubs postseason roster, so the immediate focus is more modest, but there is still a possible role before the year ends. Chicago could get a look at him in the season finale, which would at least give the organization one more chance to evaluate where he stands after the long recovery and whether he can be part of the picture moving forward. [Read more 🡒]
Cubs Regular-Season Finale Just Got A Lot More Complicated
A weather system has turned the Cubs regular-season finish into a much stranger trip than expected. The final game of their season-ending series with the Red Sox, originally set for Saturday at Fenway Park, has been moved to Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, because of an expected noreaster, and the matchup is now scheduled for Sunday at 3:05 p.m. ET.
Chicago and Boston still have to get through a doubleheader in Boston on Friday before heading south to finish things in Florida. Its a late twist to a series already carrying end-of-season weight, and it leaves both clubs dealing with a revised travel plan at the exact moment they were supposed to be wrapping up the schedule in familiar surroundings. [Read more 🡒]