Cubs Embarrass Themselves in 5-1 Loss to Brewers

Heading into Milwaukee, the Chicago Cubs were in desperate need of a turnaround. The weekend series came and went on a sour note and that should have been a wake up call to change things up.

Unfortunately, it's becoming the same old Cubs. Excellent starting pitching with no offense and a terrible bullpen.

The team is pretty much in free fall mode with five consecutive losses. Their latest performance being even more embarrassing than the last. If they continue, it will be an even bigger deficit to overcome against the first place Milwaukee Brewers.

Tale of the Tape

In Craig Counsell's return to American Family Field as Cubs' Manager, tensions were definitely high thanks to the resentful Brewers' fans on hand. It was the perfect time for the Cubs to get out of the funk that they are in.

What was unfolding was the same old nonsense from this team. Justin Steele was dealing from the beginning and gave the Cubs every chance to score. Through seven scoreless innings, Steele threw eight strikeouts and only one walk.

With their ace dealing, it was now up to the offense to take a hold of this game. As usual, the Cubs struggles at the plate continued, this time with rookie Robert Gasser hurling for the Brewers. The young left-hander was a worthy opponent to Steele on Monday.

Nico Hoerner gave the Cubs their first hit to lead off the 4th inning. The lead-off single was all that the Cubs could muster in the inning. Another reminder that the offense is still lagging behind their full capabilities.

The scoring for both sides came once the Cubs took Justin Steele out of the game. A costly error made by Nick Madrigal put the Brewers on top 1-0. Mark Leiter Jr. and Hayden Wesneski were unable to stop the bleeding. The Brewers put four more runs on the board before the inning was over. Willy Adames put the game out of reach with a home run in the same inning.

The Cubs did their best attempt at a "rally" in the ninth inning. They were able to plate one run off Hoby Milner, but as usual they fell short. A 5-1 victory for the Brewers helps extend the gap in the NL Central to 4.5 games.

Takeaways

As usual, the Cubs are struggling and no end appears to be in sight. Nick Madrigal's costly error in the 8th inning is further proof that his time with the team needs to end soon.

It is hard to justify his output on the season when he cannot play his position clean. The time to part ways is now and the Cubs need to realize that. Luis Vazquez' promotion should mean he is receiving a bigger share on the field, but it hasn't.

The overall stubbornness by this team is glaring and they have nobody to blame but themselves for the struggles they are facing. It is time to deploy different players in hopes of shaking things up. Nick Madrigal is just not the answer.

What's On Tap Next?

The Cubs will be back at it again on Tuesday. This time, they'll call upon RHP Ben Brown to put a stop to things against the Brewers' RHP Freddy Peralta. First pitch is scheduled for 6:40 PM CDT on Marquee Sports Network.

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