The Cubs and Yankees went 0 for 7 over the weekend.
The two teams that some people think will meet in the World Series this October did not look like pennant contenders this weekend after having gotten their acts back together.
The Cubs, who had beaten the Dodgers two out of three last week and were ready to overtake Milwaukee in the National League Central, went to last-place Cincinnati and did an 0-Four, losing all four games and getting outscored 31-13, including an 8-6 loss Sunday after leading 6-1.
The Cubs bullpen is in tatters, allowing 40 percent of its inherited base runners to score in June so far. That came after a 19 percent May. Typical of the Cubbies woes is that a pitcher making his Major League debut will step in Monday when they go out to LA for three more against the Bums – because the scheduled starter went home for the birth of his first child.
The Yankees are more shocked this morning. After a stretch when it looked like they couldn’t lose, they did lose at Tampa Bay, which has put the Devil back in their nickname and swept the Bombers in three games at the Trop. The Yanks’ bad luck was an apparent go ahead homer in the 10th that hit a speaker while over the playing field and, according to the local ground rules, could be caught for an out. It was.
Then Rays’ rookie Jay Bauer hit a walk-off in the bottom of the 12th for their third straight win over the suddenly impotent Yankees. Want more bad news? Slugger Gary Sanchez sprained something bad trying to leg out a ground ball, and he will go on the DL for this week through the weekend series with Boston.
Suddenly, both the Cubs and Yankees look beatable, which can often happen over a 162-game season. Fortunately for the Wrigley fans, the Cubbies are in a division they can win again with another August-September push. The Yankees and Red Sox, right now, a playing for which team wins the American League East and which team gets a wild card spot that comes with no home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
Would you ever expect one team with the best lineup in the National League and another that leads its league in homers would spend a weekend on the road against losing opponents and not win a single game? Well, it happened.
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