Craig Counsell sounds the alarm again on Chicago Cubs struggles

Imagn Images

Craig Counsell sounds the alarm again on Chicago Cubs struggles

Originally posted on ChiCitySports | By Zack Pearson | Last updated May 26, 2026 9:34 AM ET

The Chicago Cubs entered a new week with hopes of ending their losing streak. Facing a week where they will take on two NL Central foes in the Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis Cardinals, the Cubs need to get on track.

But this week started off how last week went.

Chicago fell to Pittsburgh 2-1 on Monday afternoon, losing nine-straight games and falling to 29-25 overall. The Cubs are now third in the NL Central and are looking up to the Milwaukee Brewers. While it’s only May and there’s panic just yet, things are getting a little murky for the team. Not only have they had two 10-game win streaks already but they could face a 10-game losing streak now.

The hope is that it won’t reach that part and Craig Counsell is sounding the alarms again.

Craig Counsell sounds the alarm, again

May 25, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Chicago Cubs first baseman Michael Busch (29) shakes hands with third base coach Quintin Berry (0) after hitting a solo home run against Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Carmen Mlodzinski (not pictured) during the fifth inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

A day after Counsell sent a message to his pitching staff, the manager is addressing everything in his postgame comments from Monday. Counsell pointed to hitting, pitching and coaching as to what the team needs to improve on.

“We’ve gotta play better, we gotta swing the bats better, we gotta pitch better, we need more guys contributing to good stuff,” Counsell said on Monday afternoon. and as a coaching staff we gotta figure out a way to get the players there. Offensively, we are equipped to be way more consistent than this and way better than this. We need to show it.”

Counsell isn’t wrong.

If the pitching isn’t struggling, then the hitting is. And vice-versa. While the pitching was better on Monday, they couldn’t hit and managed just one run in the game. That home run by Michael Busch tied the game but the bullpen gave it up in the eighth inning.

The Cubs just can’t put together a complete game to end this losing streak and it’s starting to bury them in the standings. Tuesday presents another opportunity in Pittsburgh to get a win.

This article first appeared on ChiCitySports and was syndicated with permission.

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