Strike or not, this week’s road trip could be the last chance for the Cubs to salvage a semblance of pride from the 1994 season.
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The Cubs, last in the National League Central, already have finished playing all 12 games against the top two teams in the division, Cincinnati and Houston. The Reds and Astros are so far ahead that the Cubs have no realistic chance to catch them.
But the Cubs do have a shot at overtaking Pittsburgh and St. Louis to finish third. The Cubs played the first of a four-game series against the Pirates on Monday night and meet the Cardinals for three in St. Louis this weekend.
“Any advancement in the standings would be welcome,” said manager Tom Trebelhorn. “We’ve simplified our goal to playing like a contending team every day for the rest of the season. If we do that, the standings will take care of themselves.”
Trebelhorn acknowledged, though, that reaching .500 was on everyone’s mind. The Cubs (43-54) lost their first three games of the season and haven’t been as high as .500 all year.
“It’s kind of artificial or arbitrary, but when you’re below .500, it’s something you think about,” said Trebelhorn.
Wish and a prayer: Trebelhorn continued to be mystified how the Cubs can have a winning record (25-23) on the road yet be 18-31 at Wrigley Field. Only four other teams in the league had winning records on the road going into Monday night. “I just wish we had the same record at home that we have on the road,” said Trebelhorn. “It would be pretty interesting. But then wishing, hoping and praying aren’t very good ways to win because what happens if the other teams wishes better than you or prays better then you? You’re in trouble.”
Still going: First-baseman Mark Grace was 1 for 4, with a single and a run-batted in to extend his hitting streak to 11 games. He is batting (.468) 22 for 47 during that stretch and is batting .300 overall.
Coming through: Eddie Zambrano drove in the only other Cub run of the night on a solo homer in the fourth. It was his sixth homer of the year, but his first since May 28 at Atlanta.