PHOENIX — The Cubs had the bases loaded in the third inning with no outs and their best hitter at the plate. It was a prime opportunity to wipe out the Diamondbacks’ lead and take control of the game.
Diamondbacks starter Ryne Nelson committed a pitch-clock violation to start Cody Bellinger’s at-bat. Even better.
Then, Bellinger chopped an outside fastball to the right side of the infield, grounding into a double play. Ian Happ scored from third, but that was the only run the Cubs pushed across the plate in that inning.
“Saw it well out of the hand,” Bellinger said, “just didn’t put my A swing on it.”
The offensive slump continued in a 6-2 loss Sunday as the Cubs fell for the sixth time in seven games against the Diamondbacks this season. It also marked the first time they were swept in a series since June 27-29 against the Phillies.
The Diamondbacks (79-72) also passed the Cubs in the National League wild-card race, taking control of the second spot. The Cubs (78-72) are tied for the third spot with the Marlins, who own the tiebreaker.
“We all have to understand the amazing baseball we played to even put us in this position,” Bellinger said. “Obviously, it hasn’t been going our way past a week and a half, but understanding we’re the same team that was balling for a month and a half.”
The Cubs have a top-four run-scoring offense in the second half, but as they’ve lost three series in a row, two against the Diamondbacks and one in Colorado, the offense has hit a skid. Going into the game, the Cubs had scored just 31 runs since Sept. 7. Only the Angels and A’s scored fewer runs in that span.
The Cubs have been a middle-of-the-pack offense in batting average over the last 1½ weeks. But they haven’t consistently capitalized in big moments. They’re 0-for-8 with the bases loaded over the last three series, according to FanGraphs.
“We have to lock in, grind a little bit harder in those moments, not get too anxious,” manager David Ross said of missed opportunities on offense this weekend. “We had a lot of traffic; the at-bats are not bad. We just get in those moments and take the pressure off the pitcher pretty quickly.”
Against Nelson, a rookie, the Cubs scored two runs in 3⅓ innings. They were already trailing by three runs when Dansby Swanson led off the second inning with a double down the left-field line. Mike Tauchman drove him in with a line-drive single up the middle.
Then, in the third inning, they only got one run after loading the bases with no outs. They didn’t score again in the game.
Cubs rookie Jordan Wicks has set such a high bar for himself that his start Sunday was the worst of his young career. He threw 4⅓ innings for his shortest start, and the three runs he allowed were the most he has surrendered in a game since debuting three weeks ago.
Still, the Cubs should have been able to put up more than two runs, especially against the back of the Diamondbacks’ rotation and a bullpen that they’ve seen plenty of in the last couple weeks.
As the scoring margin grew, the Cubs gave their high-leverage arms a rest after a 13-inning game the night before.
“We’ve been doing a good job having each other’s backs, even when it hasn’t been going our way,” Bellinger said. “And so we’re just going to continue leaning on each other.”
