Inside The Cubs

Chicago Cubs Bullpen Issues Continue At Worst Possible Time

With a 3-1 lead entering the top of the ninth, Chicago Cubs closer Daniel Palencia botched the save and gave up five runs vs. the Washington Nationals to lose the game on Sunday.
Scott Conrad|
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Chicago Cubs

While injuries happen in any sport, a few are keeping Chicago Cubs stars like Pete Crow-Armstrong and Kyle Tucker off the field. It's also affected their starting pitcher depth, as Mike Soroka and Jameson Tallion are still on the disabled list.

One of their relief pitchers, Daniel Palencia, went down after a bad outing. He gave up five earned runs in the ninth inning when the Cubs had a 3-1 lead.

After winning five of their six previous series, Chicago (81-62) dropped one at the worst possible time on Sunday. The NL Wild Card leaders are struggling, especially in their bullpen.

Following the Cubs' latest blunder, they trail the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central by 7.5 games entering this week, and own just a three-game lead over the San Diego Padres for the top NL Wild Card spot.

Palencia blew his third save in 2025 for the Cubs as he now has a 1-6 record in relief. Chicago has made 37 of their 54 save opportunities (68.5%). That means the Cubs have missed 17 chances to convert a save.

Can the Cubs turn their bullpen issues around?

The deeper Cubs starter Shota Imanaga goes on Monday against the Braves, Chicago's bullpen will have to do less in Atlanta.
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With 96 holds by their relievers, the Cubs are third in MLB, only behind the Brewers (100) and the Los Angeles Dodgers (107). Chicago is facing a Braves team that hits .243, ranking towards the bottom half of the league.

Chicago is on the road this week. They start things off on Monday against the Atlanta Braves in a three-game series. After taking two of three against them earlier this month, the Cubs should win a sixth series in their past seven.

Starter Shota Imanaga takes the mound for the Cubs. He has pitched at least six innings in his last six games, including his last win against Atlanta. If Imanaga goes deep again, the bullpen won't have to be tasked to do too much on Monday.

MORE: Cubs Manager Gives Pete Crow-Armstrong Injury Update

As for the rest of the season, the Cubs will have to figure it out as they go. The team let relief pitcher Ryan Pressly go before the end of July. He allowed seven earned runs in a 10-day span (a total of five innings pitched).

Good news for the Cubs is that three of the final five series of the regular season are against teams who hit below .250 as a team. Those teams are the other three teams in the NL Central: the Cincinnati Reds, Pittsburgh Pirates, and the St. Louis Cardinals.

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Scott Conrad
SCOTT CONRAD

Scott Conrad is a Beat Writer for Chicago Cubs On SI, part of the Sports Illustrated Network. He is also a Contributor for the Chicago Sky and Washington Wizards On SI as well as Niner Noise and The View from Avalon on FanSided. Scott grew up in the suburbs of Chicago, primarily Lombard and Naperville, Illinois, and attended Cubs games regularly when he attended Neuqua Valley High School. He graduated from Ball State University with a degree in advertising. His passion to be a sports journalist started in middle school. In 2015 & 2016, Scott was a Correspondent for the Tampa Bay Times covering high school football games. He is also a youth volleyball coach and a two-time published author.