NEW YORK -- It was a lost weekend for the Cubs at Yankee Stadium. Not only did they get swept, but they also have reason to be concerned about their rotation. None of their starters were able to give Chicago length during the three-game series due to either injury or ineffectiveness. 

On Sunday, it was tough to watch right-hander Keegan Thompson throw on the mound. If you thought his past outing on Tuesday against the Cardinals was bad (seven runs in three innings), Sunday’s outing against the Yankees was far worse in the Cubs’ 18-4 loss. 

Thompson couldn’t get out of the first inning. He threw 37 pitches in two-thirds of an inning and allowed five runs. It was the shortest outing by a Cubs starting pitcher since Jaime García tossed a third of an inning on Sept. 8, 2018 against the Nationals. 

The problem was that Thompson struggled to throw enough strikes, allowing three walks; all three of those baserunners scored. Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Joey Gallo had the biggest hits that inning with a pair of two-run doubles. By the time he exited the game, Thompson’s ERA was at 3.67. 

“Keegan struggled to find the zone. You can’t be putting guys on base, [it’s a] high run scoring environment here,” Cubs manager David Ross said. “We have to stay away from free passes.

Thompson acknowledged that he was not there mechanically. He plans on watching video in the next few days to see what went wrong on the mound. In his previous start against the Cardinals, his stride was a little short. 

“So my arm was a little late. The ball was just spinning and not quite out front like you would want,” Thompson said.     

For the righty, he didn’t have any excuses against the Yankees. He had a hard time making adjustments against the best team in baseball.  

“It ‘s not an excuse. I didn’t get it done today” Thompson said. “They did damage when I missed. They are a good lineup. They have hit mistakes. Credit to them today.”

After Thompson left the game, the bullpen took another beating, allowing 13 runs in 7 1/3 innings. It got so bad that Ross put in a position player, first baseman Frank Schwindel, to pitch the eighth inning. Matt Carpenter was the one player Chicago couldn’t stop, hitting two home runs with seven RBIs.

“When you play one of the best teams in baseball, you realize you have some areas you need to improve on,” Ross said. “You can’t get behind the eight ball that much early on.”  

Carpenter has faced the Cubs many times, dating back to his days with the Cardinals. In fact, he has 25 career home runs against Chicago, which is his most against any single opponent. 

"Anytime you play a team that you've played a lot of games against, a lot of big rivalry games, and you can have success -- there's some added thrill there. But, you know, I'm just glad I was able to help our club win a game," Carpenter said. 

The Cubs return home to Wrigley Field to start a four-game series against the Padres and must figure out what they must do with their rotation.  Ross didn’t reveal what he would do against San Diego. 

“That’s an area we haven’t played up to expectations,” the skipper said.