Two 10-Game Win Streaks and a 10-Game Losing Streak: The Cubs' Unbelievable Ride Is a Wild Early Season Reality Check

Woah, hold up, M's fans! While we were busy celebrating our boys absolutely crushing the A's 9-2 in Oakland, there's some wild, wild stuff going down in the NL Central. The Chicago Cubs? They just took a 12-1 beating from the Pittsburgh Pirates, extending their losing streak to a brutal 10 games. Ten. Straight. Losses. But here's the kicker: this isn't just any losing streak. This team has already had *two* 10-game *winning* streaks this season. What in the world is happening?

The Collapse in Pittsburgh

Can you even wrap your head around that? After tearing it up with two double-digit win streaks earlier in the season, the Cubs are now on a 10-game slide, and the latest one was a flat-out disaster. They got absolutely clobbered 12-1 by the Pittsburgh Pirates, who are suddenly looking real good with their third straight win. The Pirates' rookie Esmerlyn Valdez was an absolute menace, capping a five-run first inning with a two-run homer. This dude's on fire, becoming just the seventh Pirate ever to hit two dingers in his first four MLB games, a feat not seen since Austin Meadows back in 2018. Valdez didn't stop there, driving in three runs overall, while Bryan Reynolds added a two-run double in that explosive first inning. Spencer Horwitz even went yard too, and Oneil Cruz, Brandon Lowe, Nick Gonzales, and Horwitz all racked up two hits each. Talk about a beatdown!

Unprecedented Instability

It gets even crazier when you look at the stats. The Elias Sports Bureau dropped a bombshell: the Cubs are only the second team in major league history to boast two 10-game winning streaks and one 10-game losing streak in the same season. The only other team to pull off that wild ride? The 2017 Los Angeles Dodgers. That's some elite, albeit bizarre, company to be in. For the Cubs, this 10-game skid is their longest since 2022. On the other side of the mound, Pirates pitcher Braxton Ashcraft was dealing, going 6⅓ innings, giving up just one run on seven hits, striking out five, and walking one. He's now 3-0 with a stellar 1.82 ERA in his five starts this May. Meanwhile, poor Jordan Wicks, who just got called up from Triple-A Iowa on Sunday to help out their injury-riddled rotation, got hammered for eight runs in 4⅓ innings. Ouch. This early season rollercoaster is truly something else. So, while we're hyped about our Mariners taking care of business out west, the Cubs' epic up-and-down season is a massive reality check on how wild this early MLB season can be. Consistency, folks, that's the name of the game. For the Cubs, they're just trying to snap this brutal streak and find some stability. For us? Let's just keep that M's momentum rolling at T-Mobile Park and show the league what real baseball looks like. Go M's!

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.