This was supposed to be the stretch for the Chicago Cubs to roll up their sleeves and feast against teams with losing records.
The 22 games from June 2-25 feature two series each against the San Francisco Giants and Colorado Rockies, plus series with the Athletics, Toronto Blue Jays and the New York Mets.
But this team, which had two 10-game winning streaks in the early part of the season, started the stretch 2-4 at home against the Athletics and Giants to bring their record down to 34-32. That included a humiliating 18-3 loss to the Giants on Friday.
While they provided the fans with some walk-off fun in a 7-6 win over the A’s last Tuesday and a 3-2 win over the Giants on Saturday, the Cubs continued to play frustrating baseball in the four losses to teams that are a combined 15 games under .500.
As the Cubs embark on a six-game road trip against the Rockies (24-42) and Giants (27-39), here are three takeaways from a homestand that did them few favors.
1. It’s open season on Alex Bregman.
Critics on the internet have been blasting Cubs third baseman Alex Bregman, who is in the first stages of a five-year, $175 million no-trade, no-opt-out contract.
Of course, there is the usual bile spewed, saying he should be cut, traded, benched, fired or sent to the minors with a fake injury. Some of the printable insults include “worthless” and “piece of garbage.”
There is one other person who is insulting Bregman’s performance.
Alex Bregman himself.
After Sunday night’s loss, he let himself have it.
“I’ve been terrible and I need to play better,” he said. “Offensively, it’s been awful.”
The numbers back up his critique.
He is hitting .243, which is a couple of ticks better than the team’s overall average of .239. His on-base percentage is .327, his slugging percentage is .362 for a .669 OPS, well under his career .838.
“I’ve failed many times in this game and I’ve struggled before,” Bregman said. “I started slow before. I started fast before. When you are struggling, there is only one way forward and that’s straight, head-on through it.
“You get after it in your work and it comes down to executing in the game and I haven’t executed all year.”
Through the team’s first 66 games, Bregman is on pace for a 12-home run, 47-RBI season and his average with runners in scoring position is .173 in 75 at-bats.
“With runners in scoring position, I’ve been god-awful,” Bregman said. “I need to be better.”
He added that if he were better over the last several games, the Cubs would have won a majority of them.
“They brought me here to play good baseball and I haven’t played good baseball,” the former Houston and Boston standout said. “I need to figure it out.”
He said that his mechanics are off, he is late on fastballs and has been “disconnected and too separated” with his swing.
Cubs fans have been booing the team and he feels he is one of the reasons for the hostility.
“Those could be directed at me because I haven’t come through with runners in scoring position,” Bregman said. “I feel like I have plenty of chances. Guys are getting on base. I feel like we have traffic out there all the time. It’s time to start coming through.
“It’s past due, actually.”
2. Matthew Boyd’s comeback could be crucial.
The numbers were horrible. But no one seems to care about the numbers.
Rehabbing Matthew Boyd (left meniscus injury) made a start for Triple-A Iowa on Saturday and gave up five runs on seven hits — including three home runs — in five innings against Toledo in a 7-5 victory in Des Moines.
“I felt great,” Boyd told the Tribune on Sunday. “I gave up a few long balls. Sometimes that happens in that park. It’s the nature of the game.
“You go out there and attack it and I made a few mistakes and they hit them for homers.”
The numbers weren’t the key. His health is.
“He’s healthy and everything’s good,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said of Boyd. “He got to the 80-pitch mark, which is a good thing. I think we’re in a pretty good place where he will be a regular starter. He’ll be active on this road trip at some point.”
With Jameson Taillon suffering a strained left hamstring in Sunday’s 2-1, 10-inning loss to the Giants, Boyd could slip back into the rotation.
The left-handed Boyd is 2-1 with a 6.00 ERA in five starts, but hopes to return to his 2025 form when he was 14-8 with a 3.21 ERA.
“I’m itching to get back,” he said. “I’m excited to do my part to help this ballclub win and get to where we want to go in October.”
Returning to Triple-A Iowa will be outfielder Kevin Alcántara, reported Tommy Birch of the Des Moines Register. Alcántara had a baserunning gaffe as a pinch runner in the eighth inning of Sunday’s loss that proved costly.
3. Ryan Rolison is on a roll.
Left-handed middle reliever Ryan Rolison picked up both wins in the homestand and is tied with starter Colin Rea for the team lead with five victories.
Rolison, 28, returns to Colorado, where he was 1-0 with a 7.02 ERA in 31 games for the Rockies last year.
This year, his ERA is shaved down to 2.49 and he is in the right place at the right time for wins.
“This is hopefully an organizational success story,” Counsell said. “Sometimes you get guys at the right time in their careers.
“Our pitching staff has done a nice job helping him develop and giving him some confidence. We’ve got a confident pitcher right now.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Chicago Tribune.
