Cubs Lose Second Straight Game in Cleveland to Drop Series

Monday's game was a heartbreaker for the Chicago Cubs. After leading 3-0 at one point, the Cleveland Guardians stormed back to take the lead. The Cubs rallied to tie it, but the Guardians pushed ahead late and held on for the 9-8 victory .

Entering Tuesday, the Cubs needed to right the ship with Javier Assad on the mound. Every series loss further pushes the Cubs out of the NL Wild Card picture late in the season.

Tale of the Tape

With Assad on the bump, the Cubs wanted to get ahead early against the Guardians. In fact, they did just that. Following Nico Hoerner's 23rd double of the season, Hoerner swiped his 21st bag and found himself on third base with Dansby Swanson at the dish. Swanson came through with a sacrifice fly to right field, giving the Cubs a 1-0 lead.

Unfortunately for the Cubs, that was all they could muster in this one. After Cleveland tied the game in the third inning via a Brayan Rocchio bunt single, the Cubs were left searching for answers.

The Cubs had a chance in the sixth inning, managing to work Isaac Paredes and Cody Bellinger to third and first, respectively. Unfortunately, a pinch-hitting Michael Busch struck out to end the threat.

Making matters worse, the Guardians took the lead in the bottom of the sixth thanks to a Jhonkensy Noel solo shot. The 2-1 lead came at the wrong time off Drew Smyly, who's had a heck of a season. Want to know what wasn't cool, though? The AWFUL call from the broadcast. Go ahead and listen for yourself.

Awful call aside, the Cubs could not get it done. The team gave themselves a chance in the ninth inning, but nothing came to fruition. Nico Hoerner had two of the five hits in the Cubs' 2-1 loss . Javier Assad was good, but not great. The righty pitched 4.2 innings while allowing five hits, one run, and two walks with two strikeouts.

A Brutal Series Loss

This was honestly the wrong time for the Cubs to crap the bed in Cleveland. The Cubs are now 5.0 games back in the NL Wild Card and still 9.0 games out of the division. Sadly, a win on Wednesday is necessary to keep their heads above water as they look ahead to an easier stretch of the schedule in the coming weeks.

Monday and Tuesday were two different losses, but they were equally as painful. In addition, they make the two-game sweep over the Chicago White Sox feel like a distant memory. The Cubs need to get things together with a win on Wednesday, then take advantage of two winnable series back at Wrigley Field over the next eight days or so.

What's On Tap Next?

The Cubs and Guardians finish up their three-game set with a 5:40 p.m. CDT first pitch. Jameson Taillon takes the hill for the Cubs while Alex Cobb will start for Cleveland.

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