There have been many Cubs playoff losses that have hurt more – Game 6 against the Florida Marlins in 2003 and Game 4 against the Padres in 1984 immediately come to mind. But for out-and-out lousy performances, last night might have taken the cake. No runs, no hit though 6-innings, 3 homers allowed, and a steal of second where a guy came around to score.
On that note, here are some of the worst performances by the Cubs in the playoffs in my lifetime:
1984 NLCS – Game 3 at San Diego, 7-1
One win from a World Series, the Cubs sent Dennis Eckersley to the mound to try to seal the deal. The Cubs took a 1-0 lead in the 2nd inning, but Eck gave up 5 runs in the 5th and 6th, and George Frazier gave up two more. Ed Whitson have up 5 hits and that one run over 8 innings. With two more games to clinch the series ahead, I was confident the Cubs would still move on, but I only had more pain ahead of me.
1989 NLCS – Game 1 vs San Francisco, 11-3
The Cubs were back in the playoffs after 5 years, and had home field advantage. I mis- remembered that I went to a college football game that afternoon (Illinois hosting Ohio State – which the Illini actually won with a backup QB), and I was extremely angry about missing the start of the Cubs game because we were visiting at the hose of friends after the football game. But it turns out my memory is bad, and it was actually Game 3 when that happened.
As for Game 1 – things went back and froth initially, with the Giants getting3 in the top of the first off of Greg Maddux, but the Cubs got 2 back in the bottom of the inning. The teams traded runs in the 3rd to make it 4-3, and then things got bad. The Giants got 4 more in the 4th on a grand slam by Will Clark – totaling 8 runs off of Maddux. Clark went 4 for 4 that game, with a walk, a double, 2 homers, 4 runs scored and 6 RBIs, for perhaps the best postseason game I can remember seeing.
And error by Luis Salazar in the 8th opened the door for 3 more unearned runs, and the Cubs did not score after the third.
1998 NLDS – Game 1 at Atlanta, 7-1
Mark Clark started game 1 of a playoff series for the Cubs (remember that one for trivia), and really did not pitch too badly giving up 4 runs, only 2 earned over 6 innings. But the Cubs could not mount any kind of offense against John Smoltz, who pitched 7.2 innings and gave up 5 hits and 1 run, a home run to Tyler Houston. John Rocker (yikes) and Kerry Ligtenberg finished out the game for the Braves
2007 NLDS – vs Arizona – entire series
This was a series of forgettable games. 1 run on 4 hits in game one – despite Carlos Zambrano keeping it close.
An 8-4 loss in game 2, with Ted Lilly getting blown up for 6 runs. And a guys named Kevin Hart who was no a diminutive comedian giving up the other 2.
And a 5-1 loss in Game 3, with Rich Hill on the mound, where they only scored 1 run yet again.
2008 NLDS – vs Los Angeles – entire series
2008 was a carry-over from 2007, with the Cubs again getting swept in three games. A Cubs team that had won 97 games was quickly vanquished by the Dodgers.
In game 1, the team grabbed a 2-0 lead in the 2nd on a home run by Mark DeRosa. But the Dodgers stormed back to score 7 unanswered runs off of Ryan Dempster, and 3 releivers.
Game 2 was worse, with the Dodgers getting 5 runs in the second inning. The team had 4 errors, leading to 5 unearned runs, and were trailing 10-1 before getting a couple of consolation runs going into the bottom of the 9th.
There would be no grand comeback, as Hiroki Kuroda shut them down for 6.1 innings in Game 3, and the Dodgers held on for the three game sweep, 3-1. The Cubs had now lost 8 consecutive playoff games after being on the precipice of the World Series in 2003.
2015 NLDS – Game 1 at St. Louis, 4-0
The Cubs managed only 3 hits and two walks against John Lackey and two relievers. But that series got much, much better.
2015 NLCS – Game 4 vs New York, 8-3
It had seemed like a miracle season for the CUbs, with a huge push to the playoffs in the 2nd half, the Wild Card win over the Pirates, and the NLDS win over the Cardinals. But the New York Mets, and their great rotation of Harvey, deGrom and Sundergaard limited them to 5 runs over the first 3 games.
On the precipice of elimination, there was still some hope, but after Jason Hammel gave up 4 runs in the first inning on homers by Lucas Duda and Travis d’Arnaud, hope was lost. Daniel Murphy, who killed the Cubs in that series, went 4-5 with his 4th home run in 4 games.
2016 NLCS – Game 3 at Los Angeles, 6-0
The Cubs managed a measly 4 hits against the Dodgers – with Rich Hill going 6 shutout innings. After the heroics at the end of Game 1, the Cubs had gone 18 innings without a run, and looked doomed. Would they ever score a run again? Why, yes, they would.
2016 World Series – Game 4 vs Cleveland, 7-2
The Cubs were 2 games from eliminations, and most though Game 4 was a must win at home. The Cubs got a run in the bottom of the first, to take their only lead of the night, but Cleveland got 2 in the 2nd, including a home run from Carlos Santana. Jason Kipnis, another future Cub, went 3 for 5 with a home run, and the (then) Indians built up a 7-1 lead behind Corey Kluber.
The Cubs got a solo home run from Dexter Fowler in the 8th to tighten the game a little, but they were never in it, and things looked bleak.
2017 NLDS – Game 4 vs Washington, 5-0
Jake Arrieta and Jon Lester kept things close, allowing only unearned 1 run over 7 innings. But things fell apart in the 8th with 4 runs coming across against Lester, Carl Edwards Jr. (who walked both the hitters he faced) and Wade Davis on one swing of the bat – as Michael Taylor launched a grand slam to close the door on the game. The only reason I include this game is that the offense provided nothing, with only 3 hits and 3 walks off of Stephen Strasburg and two releivers.
2017 NLCS – Game 5 vs Los Angeles, 11-1
It was the end of the defense of the 2016 championship, and the Cubs went down with a whimper. Jose Quintana was lit up for 6 runs over 2 innings, and the game and season were basically over. Clayton Kershaw had a rare postseason triumph, giving up 3 hits, 1 walk and 1 run over 6 innings. It was almost appropriate the Mike Montgomery finished the season on the mound, giving up the third home run of the night to Kike Hernandez, who had 7 RBIs.
2018 Wild Card – vs Colorado, 2-1 (13 innings)
A 2-1, 13 inning game seems out of place for this list, but after the Brewers shocked the Cubs by hijacking the NL Central in the last few weeks of the regular season, including beating Chicago in a 1-game playoff, the team seemed lifeless in their loss to the Rockies.
Kyle Freeland shut them out for 6.2 innings, but an RBI double by Javier Baez tied the game at 1 in the 8th. But the Cubs did not get a hit over the final five innings, with the Rockies striking out the side in the 13th.
2020 Wild Card – vs Miami – both games
The Cubs were limited to 9 hits and 1 run over 2 games, with the only run a home run by Ian Happ. Joe Maddon stuck with Kyle Hendricks too long in Game 1, as after 6 shutout innings, he gave up 3 of the 5 runs the Marlins scored that inning.
In Game two, a guy name Sixto Sanchez shut the team out on 4 hits over 5 innings, and the Cubs managed a single baserunner against 4 relievers in the final 4 innings. And once again, their opponent struck out the side in the final inning.
2025 NLDS – at Milwaukee – Game 1, 9-3
Optimism reigned, as after a hard fought Wild Card win versus the Padres, the Cubs got ff to a 1-0 lead against the Brewers. And then it all came crashing down on Matthew Boyd (sound familiar?) as he gave up 6 runs in 2/3rds of an inning. A critical error by Nico Hoerner made 4 of those run unearned, but the damage was done. Michael Soroka threw a little gasoline on the fire by allowing three more runs in the bottom of the second, and the Cubs would be playing catch-up the whole series.
Honable mention to game 2, as it was not much better. After a huge 3-run homer by Seiya Suzuki in the first innings, Shota Imanaga would give it right back, allowing a 3-run shot to Andrew Vaughn in the bottom of the first. The Cubs would manage only 4 hits the whole game and did not score after the first inning.
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