The Chicago Cubs dropped their eighth consecutive game Sunday, falling 8-5 to the visiting Houston Astros. The loss marks their longest skid since a nine-game streak in 2022.
In a separate development, the Cubs placed right-hander Edward Cabrera on the 15-day injured list due to blister issues on the middle finger of his throwing hand.
Game Recap
The Cubs held a slim lead until the fifth inning when the Astros exploded for five runs. Christian Walker hit his 14th home run of the season to highlight the inning.
Starting pitcher Shota Imanaga surrendered seven runs on seven hits over six innings. His ERArose from 3.38 to 4.04 during the outing.
The Cubs have now been swept in back-to-back home series at Wrigley Field.
Standings Update
The Cubs fell to 29-24 on the season, placing them 2.5 games behind the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Central. They hold the third and final wild card position, just one game ahead of the Arizona Diamondbacks.
As recently as May 8, the Cubs were a season-best 15 games over .500. Since then, they havegone just 2-12.
Rotational Crisis
During their current losing streak, the Cubs rank 28th in both OPS and ERA across MajorLeague Baseball.
Cabrera was acquired from the Miami Marlins in January as part of a four-player trade. According to Baseball Prospectus, pitchers missing time with finger blisters average 24 days on the shelf, with frequent recurrences.
The rotation casualties mount:
- Cade Horton – Out for season after Tommy John surgery
- Justin Steele – Setback in recovery from Tommy John; return pushed past All-Star break
- Matthew Boyd – Out after knee surgery
- Edward Cabrera – On IL with blister issues
Current rotation includes Imanaga, Jameson Taillon, Jordan Wicks, Ben Brown and Colin Rea.
Outlook
The seven-game losing streak follows two 10-game winning streaks earlier this season. The Cubs embark on a seven-game road trip to Pittsburgh and St. Louis beginning Tuesday.
After a 92-win campaign in 2025, the Cubs entered Craig Counsell's third season asmanager with playoff aspirations. The road ahead just got considerably steeper.