We talked last week about how the Chicago Cubs needed to go 4-2 on the first homestand after the All-Star break. Well, they are not off to a very good start with that. They lost the first two games of the opening series against the Arizona Diamondbacks before rallying late to salvage a win on Sunday. The offense continues to be terrible for the Cubs. They were only able to score four runs across the three games. Chicago was just 4-22 with runners in scoring position. That has been an issue for them since last season.

The starting pitching continued to be solid for the Cubs. Justin Steele struggled on Friday giving up five runs in 4 2/3 innings, but Kyle Hendricks was able to give them five innings while giving up three runs on Saturday. That is not a great start by any means, but Hendricks did enough to give them a chance to win. Shota Imanaga was nothing short of spectacular on Sunday. He took a no-hitter into the sixth inning and finished the day going seven innings giving up just one run and striking out ten. For his efforts, he was awarded a no decision. The Cubs did rally to win that game after pushing across a run in the bottom of the ninth. That tied the game that was ultimately won with Nico Hoerner’s walk off walk in the bottom of the 10th.

Now the Cubs really need a sweep of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are ten games behind the Brewers in the National League Central and 3.5 games out of the NL Wild Card. 3.5 games does not sound like that much, but there are four teams ahead of them for that final Wild Card Spot.