Cubs Suffering from Bad Case of Sunday Scaries

The Chicago Cubs have officially finished up one of the most brutal 41-game schedule stretches in recent memory, and despite closing it on a four-game losing streak, Chicago came out with a record of 23-18, atop the standings in the National League Central division.

Just last week, we looked at the Cubs' success in series openers, particularly at home, and discussed why the club is undefeated in such games. Today, we are going to try and figure out exactly why Chicago has played some of its worst baseball on Sundays. The team sits at 1-6 in Sunday games, and that lone win was back on April 13, against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Let's try and figure out exactly what is going wrong for Chicago in series finales.

We'll start the same place we did when analyzing what's gone well, and that is the scoring. As noted last week, Chicago is averaging 7.8 runs per game in home series openers. That average cuts in half on Sundays, as the Cubs have scored just 22 runs in seven games. That comes out to a measly 3.1 runs per game. The club scored 17 runs in its first three Sunday games of the season, but have since scored just five over four games.

Another thing noted in the article surrounding the success in series openers was how great the starting pitching had been in those games. The Sunday games this season have been the exact opposite, which has brought out something the Cubs have struggled with this year: high-leverage relief work. Only once has a starting pitcher taken the loss in a Sunday game, and that was Shota Imanaga in his most recent start before going on the injured list. Every other game has been lost by a member of a scuffling Cubs bullpen—and although it was Imanaga's run that scored and he got the official loss, it was the bullpen that allowed his bequeathed runners to score after he departed that day.

Chicago wasn't particularly great in Sunday games last year, as they finished 15-11. The next several Sunday games will be crucial to the team's season-long success. Four of their next five Sunday games come against the Reds (twice), White Sox and Pirates. If Chicago is a true contender in the NL, it must win all four of those series finales. If the club is able to get back to that this season, it would feel like an absolute miracle. Winning 14 of their last 19 games on Sundays would also more than likely signal that Chicago has won the NL Central and reached the postseason for the first time since 2020.