{"id":30282,"date":"2026-05-23T20:35:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-23T20:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trendifyhubusa.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/23\/cubs-just-might-find-cure-for-what-ails-them-this-weekend-vs-astros\/"},"modified":"2026-05-23T20:35:00","modified_gmt":"2026-05-23T20:35:00","slug":"cubs-just-might-find-cure-for-what-ails-them-this-weekend-vs-astros","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trendifyhubusa.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/23\/cubs-just-might-find-cure-for-what-ails-them-this-weekend-vs-astros\/","title":{"rendered":"Cubs just might find cure for what ails them this weekend vs. Astros"},"content":{"rendered":"


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The term was coined by Rick Pitino when he was coaching the Celtics during a trying time and had his fill of public criticism.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese sports talk shows,\u2019\u2019 he said, \u201care fueled by the fellowship of the miserable.<\/i>\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

There will be a similar gathering at Wrigley Field this weekend, but it has nothing to do with \u201cMully and Haugh,\u201d \u201cSpiegel and Holmes\u201d or \u201cWaddle and Silvy.\u201d<\/p>\n

It has everything to do with the Cubs<\/a> and Astros, two teams who come into this series sharing similar tales of woe.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re in a funk right now, and it\u2019s up to us to change it,\u2019\u2019 Cubs manager Craig Counsell said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think right now we\u2019re struggling a little bit,\u2019\u2019 Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez told reporters.<\/p>\n

The Cubs have lost nine of their last 11 games since April 9 to fall out of the first-place perch they had been holding since the first day of the month. They enter the weekend in second place, 1 1\/2 games behind the Brewers, who took three straight from them this week.<\/p>\n

The Astros are 4-8 since the same date and are now 11 games under .500, in fourth place in the AL West.<\/p>\n

The Cubs have scored three runs or fewer in nine games in this stretch and have been outscored 59-31. They\u2019re batting a collective .182 and have been outhomered 20-7.<\/p>\n

The Astros are batting .186 over the same stretch and are averaging just 1.9 runs a game while being outscored 52-23.<\/p>\n

According to the app Wrigley Winds, the wind will be blowing in for all three games, news that offers no relief to these slumping teams.<\/p>\n

Alex Bregman, who is batting .286 in this stretch, is the only Cubs player in double digits in hits with 12. Pete Crow-Armstrong and Ian Happ both have four hits in their last 37 at-bats. Dansby Swanson is 5-for-34. Moises Ballesteros is 1-for-18. Matt Shaw, in limited play, is hitless in 14 at-bats.<\/p>\n

On the pitching side, in their last two full turns through the rotation, Shota Imanaga is the only Cubs starter with an outing longer than five innings. He went seven innings, allowing two runs, in a 4-1 loss to the Braves, then went just 4 1\/3 innings Monday night against the Brewers, allowing eight runs in a 9-3 loss.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday night, Edward Cabrera was lifted after throwing one pitch in the fourth inning because of a blister on the middle finger of his pitching hand, an issue that had previously plagued him in Miami.<\/p>\n

The Cubs should know by Friday whether he can make his next start. If he can, Counsell might elect to give Imanaga a sixth day of rest and slot Ben Brown, who would be working on regular rest, on Sunday. Jameson Taillon, who gave up five home runs to the White Sox in five innings in his last start, is scheduled to face the Astros on Friday, with Colin Rea pitching Saturday.<\/p>\n

The Astros, who are already missing Cy Young Award finalist Hunter Brown and Cristian Javier to shoulder strains, lost another member of their rotation this week when they put Lance McCullers on the injured list with shoulder inflammation. Right-hander Spencer Arrighetti, who was the team\u2019s rookie of the year in 2024, missed five months last season with a fractured thumb sustained when he was hit by a batted ball in batting practice. He has been the team\u2019s best pitcher this season, going 5-1 with a 1.50 ERA. He\u2019s scheduled to pitch Friday.<\/p>\n

After that, the Astros are scheduled to go with a converted reliever, Kai-Wei Teng, on Saturday, with Peter Lambert, who spent the last two seasons pitching in Japan, on tap for Sunday.<\/p>\n

Care to hear a prediction? This is the weekend the Cubs will collectively remember who they are and snap out of it. As ugly as it has been, 11 games is a small slice of 162, and it\u2019s not exactly a distant memory when the Cubs were winning 20 of 23, 10-game winning streaks bookending three defeats.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe in this group,\u2019\u2019 said Bregman, who said his swing felt as good as it has all season Thursday and feels a breakout coming.<\/p>\n

Bregman, coincidentally enough, so far has numbers that roughly parallel those of Kyle Tucker, the guy whose production he was ticketed to replace when Tucker signed with the Dodgers. Tucker is hitting .251, Bregman .249. Both have hit four home runs. Tucker has knocked in 24 runs, Bregman 16. Tucker has a .749 OPS, Bregman .682.<\/p>\n

Neither player has yet to approach the levels expected of them by their new employers, but Bregman said his fast start last season with the Red Sox was an anomaly, and his personal hitting coach, Jason Columbus, said the same. Columbus said it\u2019s usually around now that Bregman begins to heat up. They\u2019ve identified, he said, the mechanical flaw in Bregman\u2019s swing, and you\u2019ll soon see the difference.<\/p>\n

It certainly isn\u2019t for a lack of effort. Columbus flies in for every home game and meets with Bregman daily, usually reviewing video together. Columbus goes home with Bregman after the game, which they review. Bregman also gets worked on by his personal physical therapist.<\/p>\n

And what does Reagan Bregman, Alex\u2019s wife, think about Columbus\u2019 omnipresence?<\/p>\n

Bregman smiled. \u201cShe\u2019s in for the grind, too,\u2019\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n

No one has had a more grueling grind of late than Pete-Crow Armstrong, who acknowledged that the notoriety that followed last Sunday\u2019s pop-off at The Patio, a profane exchange that led to MLB fining him $5,000, has taken its toll. Crow-Armstrong made what he called \u201cgenuinely laughable\u201d errors in each of the last two games of the Brewers series.<\/p>\n

\u201cI haven\u2019t contributed to any games where I\u2019ve given people a chance to feel any sort of good way about what I\u2019m doing out there,\u2019\u2019 he said Wednesday night.<\/p>\n

\u201cResults don\u2019t show, but I feel really good in the box. I\u2019m still proud of my at-bats. I\u2019m still showing up every day. So the way that I work and the way that everybody else in here works, individual stuff is going to turn around.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

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The Cubs promoted Ramirez, the No. 2 prospect in the organization, Friday. But manager Craig Counsell said the 22-year-old infielder isn\u2019t expected to see a ton of playing time during his first trip to the majors.<\/p>\n

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