The mid-collapse Chicago Cubs are still waiting for their first series win since Sept. 6.
Fans might have looked at the series against the Pittsburgh Pirates as a prime opportunity to get back on track, especially after Tuesday's 14-1 victory. But whatever juice Chicago had in that game was depleted in the following two.
On Wednesday, they lost 13-7. They followed that up with an equally frustrating 8-6 loss on Thursday to close the series.
Now that another series loss is in the books, it's time to play the blame game.
Cubs to blame for series loss to Pirates: No. 3 Dansby Swanson
Dansby Swanson is supposed to be the Cubs' main man. He's the guy the team should be able to turn to when they need a run. And he's been absolutely terrible at that lately.
In Wednesday's loss to the Pirates, Swanson was 0-of-3 with runners in scoring position. In two of those scenarios, he struck out in four pitches or less.
The issues continue on Thursday with three more blanks on RISP opportunities. The worst of those was a four-pitch strikeout with the bases loaded in the bottom of the third.
And on Thursday he added a costly error in the top of the third which helped lead to Pittsburgh's opening two runs.
In the middle of a potential collapse, it's vital for the Cubs' best players to up their game. Swanson hasn't done it outside of an ultimately meaningless ninth-inning home run on Thursday.
Cubs to blame for series loss to Pirates: No. 2 Justin Steele
Remember when Justin Steele was a Cy Young Award candidate? His last two outings have pretty much put that out of reach.
Coming off a loss to the Diamondbacks in which he allowed six earned runs in six innings, Steele got shelled again on Wednesday with six earned runs allowed. He was pulled in the top of the fourth without having recorded an out against six batters in the inning. His poor start put the Cubs on the back foot and they ultimately fell 13-7.
Steele was on fire for most of the season before this late stumble. It's the timing that really stings. A strong outing from a star pitcher could have been what the doctor ordered for a Cubs team in free fall. It's extra demoralizing to lose games when you go in expecting to have an advantage on the mound.
At this point, Chicago has no reason to look forward to Steele's next start, which could be a critical one. When the Cubs can't count on Steele, who can they count on?
Cubs to blame for series loss to Pirates: No. 1 David Ross
You know what was really fun about Tuesday's 14-1 victory to start the series against the Pirates? Watching rookie Alexander Canario hit a grand slam.
How many more times did Cubs fans get to see the young hitter step into the batter's box in the series? Zero, zip, zilch.
That's just one example of David Ross's miscues in his team's fourth series loss in a row and seventh loss in eight games.
Ross hasn't changed his lineup to respond to poor play. He hasn't adjusted his approach to the bullpen despite rough outings. And he hasn't done anything to motivate his team or build up their faith in his managerial abilities.
After the game on Thursday night, Ross talked the talk.
"That's not a good team that just took two out of three from us. Or not our caliber of team I believe," Ross said per Jesse Rogers of ESPN. "We have to turn it around. It's on me. It's on the guys in the room."
The Cubs needed to turn it around a week ago. Fighting words after a loss to a sub-.500 team doesn't mean much, especially when Ross wasn't willing to go to bat for Seiya Suzuki when he was called out on a clear ball four well outside the zone.
