Chicago Cubs: 1 huge reason the 11-game losing streak ended
The Chicago Cubs did it! They finally won a game! The last game they won going into Wednesday night was their combined “no-hitter” game a couple of weeks ago against the Los Angeles Dodgers. They then went on to lose 11 straight games. They went from legit contention in the National League Central to fourth place during that stretch. It was horrible but it made the rest of the season pretty easy for them.
The Chicago Cubs defeated the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday night.
Everyone was wondering what it would take for the Cubs to come out of this. A matchup between Alec Mills and Zack Wheeler didn’t seem to favor them at all. Wheeler has been one of the best pitchers in the National League so far this season so beating him was going to be tough, especially with a wild card like Alec Mills on the mound.
The key to the game was pouncing on Wheeler early. The Cubs did just that as they scored three in the first and two in the second. Tagging Zack Wheeler the way that they did was wildly impressive. His ERA falls to 2.26. You know that he has been outstanding this season when an outing like that raises you to 2.26 on the year.
The Cubs should be very proud of ending the skid in this fashion. It is horrible that they had to have a skid like this but they are finally out of it. At the same time, it could prove to be a blessing in disguise. The Cubs are a lot closer to being the team that they are on the skid than the team that was so hot earlier in the season. There is talent there but nobody should be fooled. They are not good enough to be a playoff team.
Getting to Wheeler early and often was perfect for them. They showed themselves that they can, at times, hit well against some of the elite pitchers in the league. Nobody would have been surprised if the streak went to 12 because Wheeler shoved at Wrigley. Instead, the Cubs were resilient enough to end this very hard time.
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It is one of the longest losing streaks in the history of the franchise so you know they are happy that it is over. As mentioned before, it might be a good thing that this happened because now they can act accordingly. As cool as it was to see them pounce on Wheeler, we now know they need to start selling off and thinking about the future.