CHICAGO — Without two of their key players, the Cubs had a difficult task in winning their third straight series and the sixth in their last seven sets.
They put themselves on the brink of doing so, but Daniel Palencia blew a save in the ninth inning, failing to record an out through five hitters before leaving with an apparent injury as the Cubs fell to the Washington Nationals 6-3 on Sunday at Wrigley Field. The loss means the Cubs (81-62) are just three games up on the San Diego Padres – who won on Sunday – for the top spot in the NL Wild Card.
The Cubs are 7.5 back of the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central, whose magic number to clinch the division shrinks to 13. The Cubs’ magic number to clinch a playoff spot is 11, and their magic number for the top Wild Card spot is 17.
Here are three takeaways from the loss to Washington (58-84):
Injury on top of loss
Daniel Palencia was one of the pleasant surprises of the Cubs in 2025. He was a young fireballer with past struggles in the big leagues who started the year in the minors before ascending to the closing role.
He’s hit a rough patch of late, posting a 5.23 ERA in 10.1 innings across 10 appearances since August 3, but was still mostly getting the job done, going seven-for-eight in save opportunities.
Palencia could fall into trouble but wiggle his way out of it – except on Sunday. He allowed a lead-off home run to Robert Hassell III, then allowed a single and a walk to the next two hitters. Disaster struck when Josh Bell hit a three-run home run off him to turn a 3-1 lead into a 6-3 deficit.
After allowing a triple to Daylen Lile, things got worse for Palencia. He threw one pitch to Andrés Chaparro, a 100-mph fastball, before crumbling to the ground in pain and exiting with trainer German Suncin and manager Craig Counsell.
Counsell seemingly had his leverage situation carved out perfectly – Caleb Thielbar and Brad Keller are his top two setup men with Palencia in the ninth. Any time spent out by Palencia throws a wrench into those plans, especially with the playoffs on the horizon.
Kelly’s day
Carson Kelly sparked the offense, and it seemed as if he had put the final touches on the scoring for the Cubs on Sunday.
The Cubs catcher hit a solo home run in the second inning and another in the eighth, his third multi-home run game of the season and the fourth of his career. He also threw out a runner to pick up the final out of the third inning.
Counsell had said they had given Kelly some time off in Colorado at the end of August to try and reignite his offense. The result is three home runs in three games during this homestand, a welcome sign for the Cubs’ offense while they have dealt with struggles and the injuries to Tucker and Crow-Armstrong.
Kelly was a nice surprise in the first half of the year, entering the All-Star Break with an .899 OPS, 12 home runs and 33 RBI. His OPS was in the 1.000’s until late May. The Cubs’ offense was at their best in the first half when it seemed like Nos. 1 through 9 in the order could do damage. That hasn’t been the case much in the first half, but getting Kelly producing is a boost, too.
Seiya Strikes
Seiya Suzuki took time after Saturday’s loss to take some visualization swings in a mostly empty Wrigley Field.
For an at-bat, at least, it seemed as though it had helped. Suzuki drove in the go-ahead run in the fifth inning with a single to plate Nico Hoerner.
Since August 6 (the last time he homered), Suzuki is hitting .211 with four doubles, five RBI and a .601 OPS in 110 plate appearances. He has just 12 RBI, two home runs and a .602 OPS since the All-Star Game. Suzuki had a strong case to be in the Midsummer Classic, posting an .867 OPS with 25 home runs and 77 RBI in the first half.
He hasn’t been that type of run producer in the second half and, coupled with the struggles of Tucker and Crow-Armstrong, has led to a drop in performance by the once high-scoring Cubs offense.
The Cubs need the return of Tucker and Crow-Armstrong — there’s no denying that. But getting Suzuki to produce again would be a welcome sign, too.