Trio of big blasts a good sign for Cubs after slow May

MILWAUKEE -- The Cubs have been searching for answers offensively over the past month. Since April 27, the team ranks last in batting average (.206), slugging (.323), batting average on balls in play (.256), and wOBA (.276).

But Chicago found some life from key sluggers on Thursday, as Cody Bellinger, Seiya Suzuki, and Christopher Morel all went deep. Their contributions, though, weren’t enough in the Cubs’ 6-4 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field.

“I thought it was a day that we swung the bats pretty well,” manager Craig Counsell said. “Obviously, we had some homers in some big spots that got us even. But we just got to keep going. We're in a tough stretch. When you're in a tough stretch, it feels like you don't get breaks, we've got to make our own breaks, and we’ll keep doing that.”

Despite the loss dropping the Cubs (28-29) to 5 1/2 games behind the Brewers (33-23) for the NL Central lead, their offense showed up in key spots on Thursday.

Bellinger hit a home run in the first inning, then Suzuki came off the bench to launch a game-tying two-run shot in the seventh. Then, Morel tied the game once again in the eighth inning before the bullpen allowed two runs in the bottom frame. Those three home runs are the most the Cubs have hit in a game since May 4 -- also against the Brewers.

“I feel like we're all starting to perform a little better each game, and I think the most important thing is just staying persistent,” Suzuki said through interpreter Toy Matsushita. “And that's what we're going to do moving forward, and we're going to get those results in.”

While losing three of four on the road is never a good thing for any team, it is a nice sign to see some of the Cubs’ key hitters pick it up at the plate. Bellinger has a six-game hitting streak, Ian Happ has three home runs over the past five games, and Suzuki and Morel both homered on Thursday.

The Cubs are hoping this is a sign of things to come for their offense, because they will surely need contributions from their key players to help right the ship.

“It was just great to see Seiya take a big swing,” Counsell said. “We desperately need him to get going for sure, he's a big part of our offense. We've talked about Morel a lot, and just seeing him get some good results today is a positive thing for him. Ian didn’t get hits today, [but] I thought he swung the bat pretty well. So, those are the guys we kind of need to get going, and that's what's going to kind of kickstart the offense.”

It has been a weird offensive month for the Cubs, especially after a solid April. They scored the ninth-most runs in March/April (149), and their on-base percentage (.318) and slugging (.388) ranked in the middle of the pack. They even slugged 30 home runs through the first 30 games.

May, though, has just been a completely different story.

Every player in Chicago’s offense has gone through a notable slump at some point this month. So, it has certainly been a rough stretch for this group.

“We kind of went through something like this last year where we came out on the other side stronger as a group,” said starter Jameson Taillon after delivering six innings of three-run ball. “So yeah, it's tough right now, there's no doubt, but at the same time, like, just gotta keep going.”

But despite that rough offensive stretch, the Cubs’ players remain confident in one another and believe that the results will eventually come. Bringing up a player like Pete Crow-Armstrong -- who was recalled before Thursday’s game -- could also help: He was hitting .387 (12-for-31) with three home runs and seven RBIs in seven games at Triple-A Iowa since his demotion on May 20.

Either way, though, the Cubs know they have to start hitting, and Thursday’s home run barrage could be the start of getting the offense back on track.

“The hard thing about baseball is that things don't really go your way,” Suzuki said. “But you know, it's just fighting through it, and I think we're all trying to work together to get those wins little by little.”