The Chicago Cubs’ 43-28 record this year puts them atop the National League Central and second overall in the NL. They owe the bulk of their success to their offense. With the acquisition of Kyle Tucker in the offseason and All-Star-like seasons from Pete Crow-Armstrong and Seiya Suzuki, they have been unstoppable most of the year. Unfortunately, the Cubs offense has been slumping as of late. What has led to these recent struggles?
Recent Hardships for the Cubs Offense
*All figures as of Friday, Jun 13
While no team will score 10 runs every game, the Cubs have had more offensive difficulties than usual these past 11 games. There are several reasons for these struggles. First of all, they have faced some elite pitching. This includes Paul Skenes, Tarik Skubal, MacKenzie Gore, Jack Flaherty, Jesús Luzardo, and Zack Wheeler. This is no easy task for any team. This group of pitchers has four players with a sub-three ERA. When facing this much great pitching in only 10 or so games, any offense is bound to take a hit.
In addition to the top-tier pitching they have faced, most of their numbers are down compared to their season averages. Both their team batting average and their average with RISP are down. On the season they are hitting .258 overall (fourth in the league) and .256 with RISP. In their last 11 games though they are only hitting .222 as a team. While this isn’t a drastic change, it is enough to slow an offense down. Even worse, they are only hitting .153 with RISP in the last 11 games.
Manager Craig Counsell commented on Friday’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, “We just didn’t get a hit with runners in scoring position.”
This is brutal because to score runs and win games, teams need to hit well with runners on 2nd and 3rd. And although they have been extremely good at that most of the season, it’s a problem as of late that they must fix. Finally, the Cubs’ run production overall has been down recently. The home run ball has been there for them, but even with that, they’ve only put up 3 runs/game these last 11 games. This is more than two runs below their season average of 5.43 which has them second in MLB. Because of the Cubs ‘ below-average pitching, three runs per game won’t cut it, and that average needs to increase soon.
Can the Cubs Turn it Around?
No matter how good an offense is, every MLB team is destined to slump at some point. While it may not be ideal, it gives a team a chance to reflect on what changes need to be made. As Ian Happ put it, “Just means that we’re due for a couple big numbers here, and that’s coming.”
“Just means that we’re due for a couple big numbers here, and that’s coming.”
Ian Happ on the Cubs’ offense. pic.twitter.com/mZJp4zyelg
— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) June 13, 2025
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
The Cubs have one more game against the Pirates and then a three-game series against the Milwaukee Brewers and Seattle Mariners, all at home. They will have a chance to turn it around against the Pirates, facing a sub-par pitcher in Mitch Keller. While Keller has been good in previous years, he has a 1-9 record with a 4.15 ERA this year.
Both the Brewers’ and Mariners’ pitching staffs have been around average this year. Milwaukee ranks 13th in team ERA this year, while Seattle falls in 19th place in MLB. The Brewers recently called up their #4 prospect, RHP Jacob Misiorowski. He went 5.0 no-hit innings in his first career start, and is in line to make a start against the Cubs. If the Cubs put some runs on the Pirates in their series finale, perhaps that will give them the momentum they need to start scoring more against the Brewers and Mariners. As mentioned above, slumps come around for every team. On the other hand, the Cubs are too good an offense not to return to their regular selves. But, they must do this sooner rather than later to hold their top position in the NL Central.
Main Photo Credit: © Matt Marton-Imagn Images
The post A Closer Look at the Cubs’ Recent Offensive Struggles appeared first on Last Word On Baseball.