CHICAGO -- The Cubs are not close to where they want to be in terms of their record, but the state of the National League Wild Card race is keeping Chicago in the conversation. Then again, manager Craig Counsell believes this is still far too early to be checking the standings.

“It's June. I mean, come on,” Counsell said. “But yeah, when you want to feel like a good team and a playoff team, we've got to be better than this. No question about it.”

A 5-2 loss to the Mets on Sunday sent the Cubs to a series loss, giving Chicago a 4-5 record on the homestand and a 9-11 ledger in June. The North Siders now head on a seven-game swing through San Francisco and Milwaukee to close out the month.

Here are three takeaways from Sunday’s defeat at Wrigley Field.

1. Morel finding power again

During Saturday’s 8-1 romp over the Mets, Christopher Morel punished a pitch from Tylor Megill, sending it a Statcast-projected 446 feet to left-center field for the Cubs’ longest homer of the season. Morel delivered another majestic shot in Sunday’s loss.

In the seventh inning, Morel connected on a 1-2 fastball from Mets reliever Dedniel Núñez that sailed into the strike zone at 97.5 mph. Morel sent it out to center for a two-run blast, marking his 15th shot of the year.

Morel’s homer continued a solid uptick in production over the past six games, in which he has hit at a .300 (6-for-20) clip with a .650 slugging percentage. That stretch followed an 0-for-16 slide in the four previous games. That type of streakiness has been a trait of Morel’s season, in which the results have not aligned with the underlying metrics.

“Whenever you're having a season like Christopher,” Counsell said, “you're looking for, ‘When is it going to kind of change for the guy?’ You need some good days. Obviously, you need some balls to go over the fence and you need some balls to fall in. … We've got to have him string some together.”

2. Loss of Leiter impacts bullpen

In the second half of last season, the bullpen trio of Julian Merryweather, Adbert Alzolay and Mark Leiter Jr. emerged as Chicago’s primary late-inning combination. Merryweather (rib stress fracture) is on the comeback trail after landing on the injured list in April. Alzolay was shelved with a right flexor strain in May and is rehabbing in Arizona.

Leiter followed them to the 15-day IL prior to Sunday’s game due to a right forearm strain.

“He just wasn't recovering outing to outing like he needed to,” Counsell said. “So, rather than kind of keep pushing this, essentially just take a little break here. We're hoping this is the minimum days and he's just refreshed.”

Leiter allowed eight earned runs in his previous four appearances (3 1/3 innings), bumping his season ERA to 5.34 from 3.20 in that span. Without Leiter -- often used against lineup pockets featuring lefty batters due to the usual effectiveness of his signature splitter -- Tyson Miller, Luke Little and Hayden Wesneski are among the relief arms with solid numbers against lefties.

3. Assad’s abbreviated outing

Cubs righty Javier Assad was the picture of consistency over his first nine starts this season, spinning a 1.49 ERA with just two home runs allowed in 48 1/3 innings. In the loss to the Mets, Assad allowed back-to-back shots to Francisco Lindor and Brandon Nimmo in a game-changing third inning.

“I feel like I left those pitches just a little too high,” Assad said via translator Fredy Quevedo Jr.

Both pitches in question were fastballs from Assad, who targeted the outer part of the zone each time. Lindor sent a 3-2 cut fastball the opposite way for his home run, and then Nimmo did the same with a 2-2 four-seamer that was elevated a little more than on the previous shot.

Over his past seven turns out of Chicago’s rotation, Assad has logged a 5.19 ERA with eight homers surrendered in 34 2/3 innings. Four of those home runs have come against the right-hander’s cutter. This time, it led to Assad exiting the game after 4 1/3 innings, in which he had no strikeouts and seven hits allowed.

“You're going to have good and bad days,” Assad said. “Not every day is going to be pretty, but you turn the page and then you just keep focusing on the next one.”