The Cubs losing ways continued on Tuesday with a blowout loss to the Pirates. It was never really a game, as the Pirates scored five runs in the first inning and went on to win 12-1 while the Cubs had many of the same problems they’ve had throughout their losing streak. Ah, yes, the streak. This was the Cubs’ 10th straight loss.
During this streak, the offense has been painfully terrible at bringing baserunners home. Sure enough, the Cubs were 1 for 13 with runners in scoring position and left 11 runners on base while scoring just the one run on Tuesday. The rotation is also badly banged up, with Matthew Boyd, Cade Horton, Justin Steele and Edward Cabrera on the injured list. As such, Jordan Wicks was forced to make his first MLB start since 2024. He gave up eight runs on nine hits in 4 ⅓ innings.
The offense is at full strength (Matt Shaw, a part-time player, is the only injury), but they’ve just stopped hitting as a group. Things are a total mess right now.
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Matt Snyder
The Cubs are still above .500 at 29-26 and that’s largely due to two separate 10-game winning streaks earlier this season. They started 7-9, then won 10 in a row, lost three in a row, won 10 straight and have gone 2-14 since the second winning streak. The Cubs are only 9-26 other than the two winning streaks. Those are the two longest winning streaks in baseball this season, too, as no other team has a winning streak of more than eight games so far.
The Cubs are now two losses away from the longest losing streak of the 2026 season, too, trailing only the Mets‘ 12-game losing streak (the Phillies also lost 10 in a row earlier).
This is the first time since the 2017 Dodgers that a team has had two 10-game winning streaks and a 10-game losing streak in the same season. It’s May 26!
This is the earliest in a season a team has ever pulled off what the Cubs have done. Remember, the Cubs joined four other teams in history by having two 10-game winning streaks in the first 40 games. None of those teams lost more than five in a row in their respective seasons.
This is to say that while it might sound hyperbolic to say something like «we’ve never seen anything like this,» we actually haven’t. Not this early in the season. It’s the most extreme sequencing we’ve ever seen before the calendar turns to June.
Further, the Cubs are now approaching dubious franchise history. They’re currently tied for the 13th-longest losing streak in Cubs history. This is the longest losing streak since they lost 12 straight (twice) in 2021. The record isn’t too far off. The Cubs started the 1997 season 0-14 and that 14-game losing streak is the longest in franchise history.
On Wednesday, the Cubs send Jameson Taillon (2-4, 5.20 ERA) to the hill against Bubba Chandler (1-6, 4.79) of the Pirates.
