5 Reasons why you shouldn’t be surprised that the Colorado Rockies beat the Cubs

CHICAGO, IL – OCTOBER 02: Kyle Schwarber #12 of the Chicago Cubs reacts after striking out in the ninth inning against the Colorado Rockies during the National League Wild Card Game at Wrigley Field on October 2, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

The Cubs offense was flat to end the regular season

The Cubs might be vaunted for their offense but the simple fact of the matter is they didn’t show up for August, September, or October.

From March through July 31st, they averaged exactly five runs per game. They allowed 4.1 runs per game.

In August, September, and October, they also averaged 4 runs per game. They allowed 3.9 runs per game

In September and October, the Cubs averaged exactly 4 runs per game. They allowed 3.7 runs per game.

Obviously, with the margins being closer, you can see why the team ended up losing more down the stretch.

They also saw most of their other offensive numbers drop drastically.

Months
Split	AB	R	H	2B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	tOPS+	sOPS+
April/March	912	133	230	51	25	123	89	224	.252	.334	.412	.746	101	108
May	964	144	263	52	36	140	122	211	.273	.356	.457	.814	118	123
June	965	132	259	47	27	130	102	253	.268	.341	.405	.746	101	108
July	859	122	230	50	25	115	98	201	.268	.348	.418	.766	107	107
August	959	113	244	41	32	106	85	240	.254	.320	.408	.728	96	99
Sept/Oct	965	117	227	45	22	108	80	259	.235	.300	.363	.663	79	85

Sure, they did experience injuries to Kris Bryant and others but that isn’t any excuse. The Rockies had two of their best offensive players in Nolan Arenado and Trevor Story go down (and Nolan isn’t fully recovered yet, mind you) and they still prevailed in the game.

Arenado had a sac fly in the first to score the Rockies first run and Trevor Story was the guy who scored on Tony Wolters hit to get the Rockies second run in the 13th. Combined, they went 4-for-11 in the Wild Card game.

The Cubs offense was flat to end the regular season

Schedule