'Frustrated' Cubs, plunging in standings, in dire need of win vs. Rockies

The good start to the season for the Chicago Cubs has devolved into a slide heading into the series finale against the Colorado Rockies in Denver on Thursday afternoon.

Chicago began May tied for first place and stayed atop the National League Central for the next 18 days, but a prolonged slump has the club sitting in fourth place after Wednesday night's 3-2 loss to Colorado.

The Cubs can escape Denver with a win Thursday afternoon when they send Edward Cabrera (3-3, 4.99 ERA) against the Rockies' Ryan Feltner (2-1, 4.22) in a clash of right-handers to end the three-game series.

Chicago's struggles offensively have been present for a while -- the Cubs have scored three or fewer runs in seven of their past nine games -- and the situation hasn't gotten better in Colorado.

Chicago lost 7-3 on Tuesday night and was held to five hits in the Wednesday loss.

"Everybody's a little frustrated," said Michael Busch, who homered on Tuesday. "Everybody would like to be doing a little more for us, but at the same time, I think just trusting that putting as much pressure as we can on the other team, each and every inning, is important. But, yeah, I mean, it's been pretty frustrating."

Chicago didn't get much from starter Colin Rea in the series opener, but Shota Imanaga pitched well Wednesday night, going five shutout innings, but came away without a decision when the Rockies rallied to win.

It will fall to Cabrera to give the Cubs momentum heading into a weekend series at San Francisco.

Cabrera will make his 12th start of the season and is looking for his first win since April 28. He will face Colorado for the fifth time in his career -- all starts --and is 1-2 with a 4.22 ERA in the previous four outings.

The Cubs were 15 games over .500 on May 8 but are 34-34 now.

Feltner will face Chicago for the first time since Sept. 18, 2022, when he gave up three runs over 5 1/3 innings to get the win in a 4-3 game. It was the only appearance in his career against the Cubs.

Feltner will make his third start since coming off the injured list on May 30. He missed five weeks with right ulnar nerve inflammation and arguably has been the Rockies' best pitcher since his return.

He tossed six shutout innings against the San Francisco Giants in his first start back to get the win in an 8-3 victory on May 30. He gave up just one run over six innings last Friday against the Brewers but didn't get a decision. Milwaukee won 9-7 in 10 innings.

Feltner left the game with a 3-1 lead, but the Brewers rallied to deny him another victory. His task Thursday will be to quiet the strong contingent of Chicago fans who annually flood Coors Field.

"I would say that when we start winning a ton of games, which isn't that far in the future, that the blue is going to morph into purple," Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer said. "I'm color blind, so it looks the same, but to other people it's going to be more purple, and I look forward to that day."

--Field Level Media