The Cubs have now lost eight of their last twelve and three in a row including Monday night's loss to the Cardinals. Most of these are games they would have won easily earlier in the year, so there is definitely some sort of malaise. Perhaps there is a sense of complacency there. Hard to figure.
Lots of the woes are the result of lack of hitting in the clutch. On Monday they did their usual bit of grinding out at-bats and driving up the pitch count on Wainwright, but they could not add on in the late innings despite some opportunities. The top of the ninth showed a serious lack of execution. They had the Cards closer Rosenthal on the ropes after two solid hits, but the Rizzo play killed off their chances. In that situation, Rizzo has to hit the ball in the air. Right now he is just not driving the ball and just chipping a little flare toward left field isn't going to cut it. Also, you have to question Fowler's read of that ball. There is no way that ball gets through the infield. Either it is caught, as turned out to be the case, or it is a little one-hopper. Either way, Fowler is out if he tries to advance. I haven't seen any criticism of Fowler in that situation, but it seems to be a case of poor judgment at best.
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