5 observations after Cubs end road trip 2-7

MILWAUKEE -- There will be a sense of relief for the Cubs when they arrive home to Chicago on Sunday night. The start of the season -- one featuring stops in Texas, Atlanta and Milwaukee -- had not gone according to the club’s sense-of-urgency script.

On Sunday afternoon, the rival Brewers dealt the Cubs a 4-2 defeat at Miller Park, putting the period on a 2-7 season-opening road trip for the North Siders. Chicago has plenty of time to sort through the issues exposed over the past 11 days, but there is no denying that Wrigley Field will be a welcomed sight for Monday’s home opener.

“It’ll be nice to just get home and be home,” veteran Jon Lester said before Sunday’s loss, “to get into Wrigley and get settled and play in front of our home fans and kind of get off to a new start there.”

Chicago’s 2-7 record represents its worst start through a season’s first nine games since 1997, when the Cubs began the year with an 0-14 showing. Here are five things the Cubs have learned about their team as they prepare for a six-game homestand.

1. The rotation still has issues to iron out
Kyle Hendricks lasted 75 pitches and four innings on Sunday, when his fastball did not have its usual sink. Christian Yelich crushed a middle-middle heater in the first for a two-run homer, and the Brewers were on their way to a series win. All together, Chicago's rotation has a National League-low 41 innings and an NL-high 6.80 ERA through the first nine games. Lester and Cole Hamels have been solid, but Yu Darvish, Jose Quintana and Hendricks have labored.

"For the most part, Jon and Cole have looked kind of normal," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. "The other guys, we've just got to get them on track and they're going to be. Q had a tough night. Kyle, too. Just un-Kyle-like performances, but he knows what's going on."

2. Maddon is still sorting out his bullpen
The Cubs manager has noted multiple times over the past week that it often takes about a month to have a grasp on how to best utilize a cast of relievers. Chicago has already sent Carl Edwards Jr. to Triple-A Iowa and had lefty Mike Montgomery (left lat) land on the injured list. In Sunday's loss, Kyle Ryan and Allen Webster -- summoned from Triple-A on Saturday -- looked solid in the bullpen's four shutout innings of work. That trimmed the season relief ERA to 8.37 in 33 1/3 innings.

"Right now, we do need to figure out our bullpen," Maddon said. "What you're talking about is you know what to expect. That's all you're looking for -- what to expect. A big part of that's just strike throwing. If guys get hit, that's one thing. But, when you set it up by walking people, that's something entirely different."

3. The offense has the potential to carry the club
While the Cubs are just 2-2 in games with at least 10 runs scored -- thanks to the pitching problems -- the lineup has shown that it can cover up some mistakes on the mound. Sunday's output was a departure from what Chicago had produced to this point, but the two runs dd come on a nice opposite-field homer by catcher Willson Contreras (one of the bright spots so far). Overall, the Cubs have turned in a .294/.385/.494 slash line through nine games.

"We've just got to keep stringing good games together," Lester said. "Our offense has picked up our pitching pretty much for this whole road trip. It's kind of our turn to pick them up and have a little bit less runs scored."

4. The Cubs need Bryant to heat up
Kris Bryant has been under a microscope since the early days of Spring Training due to how last season's shoulder injury sapped his power. The Cubs star homered on Opening Day and is healthy by all accounts, but his offense has slipped while other hitters around him have stepped up. While it is a small sample size, Bryant is batting .174 (4-for-23) in his past five games and has a .687 OPS overall on the young season.

"He's working through some things right now," Maddon said. "The big thing is that he is healthy. That's the important thing. ... He's an elite player and, for me, guys like that, you've got to encourage them, you've got to be there to support them. And, of course, him and [hitting coach Anthony Iapoce] are talking. But you've just got to stay with that. You've got to stay with that until he comes out the other side."

5. The team is trying to block out the noise
Given the expectation that the NL Central will be one of the toughest divisions in baseball this season, the Cubs' slow start has been magnified more than usual for early season games. Much of that has to do with how much the team preached getting off to a fast start and harnessing a heightened sense of urgency during Spring Training. Inside the clubhouse, the players are trying to avoid getting caught up in the public response to the first trip.

"They can do whatever they want," Javier Baez said of fans being upset. "I don't control their mouth and they don't control my game or our game. We've just got to keep everything out of the clubhouse and just block everything negative that is coming to us right now, and go out there and have fun. We're the Chicago Cubs. Obviously, everybody's going to talk about us."