Cubs Blow 17th Game of Season, Fall 5-4 to Giants

The Chicago Cubs have a bullpen problem. The team is crumbling and ruining incredible pitching performances from their starting pitching. Sadly, the end does not appear in sight at this time, meaning these struggles will continue.

With a lead entering the ninth against the San Francisco Giants, the Cubs blew a 17th save of the season en route to the loss. The Cubs won the series last time out against the Giants, but started off the series in nearly identical fashion.

Tale of the Tape

Three scoreless innings for both teams led to the Cubs finally breaking through in the fourth inning. With the bases loaded and one out, Michael Busch singled to score Cody Bellinger from third base and give the Cubs a 1-0 lead. Unfortunately, a Tomas Nido strikeout and Pete Crow-Armstrong groundout left men on base yet again for the Cubs.

In the top of the fifth, the Cubs continued adding runs. With Nico Hoerner and Seiya Suzuki on, Cody Bellinger drove in Hoerner with a RBI single. A wild pitch and Christopher Morel walk put the Cubs in position to add. An Ian Happ groundout plated another run, and Dansby Swanson's double added another. The Cubs' 4-0 lead was a strong start to their series in San Fran.

In the bottom of the fifth, Matt Chapman got to Justin Steele for a solo shot. The slugger's ninth homer of the season made it a 4-1 game. In the bottom of the sixth, Nick Ahmed hit another solo shot to make it a 4-2 game. It was still another quality outing for Steele.

The Cubs' ace went 7.1 innings, allowing just the two earned runs. Steele allowed six hits and one walk while fanning nine Giants.

Unfortunately, things went south. The Cubs got all the way to the bottom of the ninth with a 4-2 advantage. Corey Brewer started the ninth by allowing a double to Matt Chapman. From there, Thairo Estrada singled, and Michael Conforto in a pinch-hit situation drove in Chapman with a sacrifice fly.

From there, Brewer allowed another run. Patrick Bailey singled in another pinch-hit chance, and Ahmed walked to load the bases. Another sac fly, this time from Austin Slater, tied the game at four.

Drew Smyly came on in relief of Brewer. The Cubs decided to intentionally walk Heliot Ramos to get to Wilmer Flores. However, Flores walked to drive in the game-winning run. The Cubs blew their 17th save of the season and fell 5-4 on Monday night.

This is Getting Old

The Cubs have blown a 17th save this season and have officially continued their run of mediocrity as a result. Justin Steele was brilliant once again, looking like an improved version of himself from a season ago. He has lowered his ERA to 3.08 on the season after a few rough performances once he returned from injury. However, his 7.1 innings of work meant nothing as the Cubs' bullpen blew it once again.

Something needs to happen with this bullpen. Although the offense isn't lighting the world on fire, they've been better of late at scoring runs. Add that to the incredible starting pitching this team has received and you have the makings of a team that can win. However, this awful bullpen, that has been hurt by injuries and horrible performances, will ruin this team if the front office isn't careful.

With the month of June coming to a close, it's time for the Cubs to decide on a path. Are they going to stand pat and ride the season out, or will they become aggressive in the coming weeks and try to improve this roster for a late postseason run?

What's On Tap Next?

The Cubs and Giants will run it back on Tuesday for another 8:45 p.m. CDT first pitch . Kyle Hendricks takes the bump for the Cubs while the Giants have yet to announce a starter.

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