AP Photo/Mike Stewart

The Rundown: Slump Continues as Cubs Drop Third Straight, Cubs Sign Hendriks, Syndergaard Blames Politics for Mets’ Dysfunction

Photo of Michael Canter Michael CanterMay 13, 2026

“Singing, ‘We’re gonna vent our frustration.’ If we don’t we’re gonna blow a fifty-amp fuse.” – You Can’t Always Get What You Want by the Rolling Stones

The data says that over the past month, the Cubs will most likely win 10 games followed by a three-game losing streak. Last night’s 5-2 loss to the Braves was that third lasso, so a double-digit heater is bound to follow, right? Do we trust that data?

It would be nice if baseball was that predictable, though probably a little boring. That said, the NL Central is hot as a pistol through six weeks of baseball, and all five teams still have winning records with a quarter of the season in the books. Chicago’s lead over Milwaukee has shrunk to 2.5 games, and the Brewers are the hottest team in the division. Those teams will clash at Wrigley Field as soon as this road trip ends, though the Cubs will be in Chicago to play the White Sox at The Rate once they leave Atlanta. Perhaps a little home cooking will help because the North Siders look like they barely have enough strength to swing the bat.

Offense will be the indicator of the success or failure of this ballclub, at least during the regular season. Chicago simply doesn’t have the manpower to routinely win pitching duels. Suffice to say, it would behoove the Cubs to get back to scoring five or more runs per game: They’ve plated just two baserunners over the last 29 innings. Last night, they were held to one hit — a home run off the bat of Alex Bregman — by Grant Holmes, Didier Fuentes, Dylan Lee, and closer Raisel Iglesias.

Slumps eventually end, and JR Ritchie, who’s starting for Atlanta, tends to put a lot of runners on the basepaths. Ducks on the pond are exactly what a team needs to get back in the hunt, so to speak. The Cubs should manage much more offense if they’re patient enough to work the count against Ritchie. Shōta Imanaga will take the bump for Chicago, and he’s been the team’s de facto ace thanks to injuries to Justin Steele, Cade Horton, and Matthew Boyd. That won’t matter, however, if the Cubs can’t score any runs.

Edward Cabrera has been prone to injuries throughout his career, and I hope I didn’t just curse this team. Cabrera has been struggling, but that may be due to mechanical changes designed to avoid injury to his arm.

Cubs News & Notes

Ball Four

My inner conspiracy theorist says the Dodgers are “tanking” to avoid repercussions in the next round of CBA talks. That’s farcical, of course, but I’m not the only one thinking that.

Central Intelligence

How About That!

Mets rookie A.J. Ewing had a monster debut game. He reached base safely in four of his five plate appearances at Citi Field, knocking home two runs and scoring twice. The only out he made was on a 102.3 mph flyout to the warning track.

ESPN’s got you covered if you’re curious about baseball’s current CBA negotiations. The existing agreement expires on December 1.

Jim Bowden of The Athletic writes that a lockout should be avoided ($) at all costs. Bowden is a proponent for a $150 million salary floor with a $250 million cap.

The Reds are signing veteran starter Chris Paddack, who was released recently by the Marlins.

Veteran reliever Rico García of the Orioles is on a historic run, one that rivals Mason Miller. García has faced 64 batters in 20 relief appearances and he’s been touched for just a single base hit.

The Dodgers have now lost four straight games by four or more runs for the first time since 1936.

Ex-Mets star Noah Syndergaard blames politics for the current dysfunction that exists in New York’s clubhouse. Syndergaard believes Pete Alonso and Brandon Nimmo were allowed to leave because both are strong conservatives. The one-time ace appeared on Tomi Lahren Is Fearless when he made the comments.

Three from the Bill Chuck Files

  1. When the Yankees have 10+ hits in a game, they are 12-0, the only undefeated team in the majors. But that means that when they don’t have at least 10 hits, they are 14-16.
  2. The Red Sox staff leads the majors with six shutouts. The team is therefore 11-23 when allowing at least one run.
  3. Going into play last night, the first-place Rays (28-13) lead the majors with 256 singles. The Braves (29-13), with the best record in baseball, lead the NL with 258 singles, the same as the Pirates (23-19). Tampa Bay also leads the majors with 17 sacrifice bunts. The Tigers and the Yankees have combined for zero “on-over-ins.” The bunt is back, baby, and somewhere, Billy Beane is sitting sadly, his face resting in the palm of his hand.

Apropos of Nothing

Ogre from Revenge of the Nerds died. Sad day, indeed.

Extra Innings

I have an out-of-the-box suggestion for the ’26 Cubs to help break their collective slump. Comes with a full endorsement from Anthony Rizzo.

They Said It

  • “You always look at [the injuries.] We’ve had knees and backs and lats and elbows and shoulders, so it’s not like we’ve consistently had one injury or another. Obviously, in any situation, you’re going to try to think about what you could do better. I think that’s probably how we spend all our time, trying to figure out how we can get better. But I also think there’s probably some randomness in there as well.” – Hoyer
  • “We’re still sort of in the middle of everything. With every injury, we do a really thorough [analysis] on what happened, what could have been prevented. Listen, I think that, in these jobs, being self-critical [is important]. I probably take that to an extreme, at times. Whether it’s a trade, a free-agent signing, an injury, you’ve got to always be looking at: ‘What can we do better? And what can we change?’ It’s certainly no different here. And if we find anything that led to this, certainly we’ll address it.” – Hoyer
  • “In a weird way, I hope we find something. Otherwise, it’s just randomness.” – Hoyer

Wednesday Walk-Up Song

We need some hits today, a win, and a Brewers’ loss. Am I asking for too much?

Photo of Michael Canter Michael CanterMay 13, 2026
Cubs Insider © Copyright 2026, All Rights Reserved