Alex Bregman didn’t try to cover for himself as the Chicago Cubs’ latest loss extended to an alarming slide. Moments after the manager, Craig Cousell, criticized the Chicago rotation for giving away too many HRs, the third baseman threw himself into the discussion, taking the blame. 

“Yeah, we’ve got to do a better job still. I feel like it starts with me, obviously.” Bregman continued, “Too many empty plate appearances.”

The Cubs suffered a 5-8 loss to the Houston Astros on Sunday, confirming the Astros’ series sweep at Wrigley Field. The loss extended Chicago’s losing streak to 8 games, and the manager was obviously not happy. While the lineup tried its best, he thought the pitchers were too expensive. 

“On the pitching side, we’ve got to prevent homers better. If you give up the number of homers we’re giving up, that’s a problem,” Counsell noted. 

Starter Shota Imanaga pitched 7 innings, where he allowed 7 runs. He gave away 3 homers in the game. And the 3-run home run off Christian Walker at the top of the 5th inning hurt them the most. 

Imanaga has become one of the costliest SPs for the Cubs. Not just because of his ERA, which stands at 4.04.

But he has allowed 29 earned runs, including 10 HRs. Jameson Taillon is not making things bright either, allowing 32 ERs and 17 HRs, ranking first in terms of homers allowed. But he has recorded a lower number of strikeouts (47) compared to Imanaga’s 67.

Edward Cabrera and Colin Rea have allowed 8 homers each. And the team is 29th in MLB for giving away 73 HRs so far. 

While the manager was putting it on the rotation, Bregman took it in a different direction.

The best way to balance out a poor rotation is to be explosive offensively. That’s not happening right now, either.

The 32-year-old took accountability. He went 4-for-23 in his last six games without scoring a single run. 

“So, we’ve got to be better and execute better,” Alex Bregman said without singling out any department.

This is exactly the type of accountability fans expect from seasoned MLB players. And we have seen players like Aaron Judge doing the same after the Yankees lost the top spot in the AL East. He publicly admitted that he is not doing enough for the team. 

With a 29-25 record in the division, every loss narrows their path to the postseason. However, for Chicago, the most concerning part isn’t the struggle. 

Cubs’ stunning fall from NL Central summit continues amid 9-game collapse

The NL Central is the most competitive one this season with all the teams recording an above .500 win percentage. And the Chicago Cubs were at the top till May 18 since losing to the Milwaukee Brewers 9-3. Before that, they lost two games to the Chicago White Sox, and the club has not been able to get over that slump yet. 

They are currently 6th with 253 runs scored .725 OPS. This makes it hard to believe that Chicago lost 13 of their last 15 games. 

What hurt them the most was the Brewers series last week. Milwaukee swept it against the Cubs and dethroned them.

Now, after the Astros series, Chicago has slipped to third place in their division. Given that the same team went through a 10-game winning streak twice this season, the recent slump is all the more concerning. 

But that’s not on Bregman alone.

Ian Happ recorded 10 HRs and 20 RBIs in 2026. But he is going through a 1-for-24 streak in the last six stretches. Seiya Suzuki, despite 18 RBIs this season, hasn’t connected in the last four games. Moisés Ballesteros is going through the worst slump as he has recorded just 3 hits and 3 runs from 44 at-bats this month. He was carrying the franchise earlier with 11 runs from 55 at-bats in April. 

The whole team is struggling. And the concerns are increasing every day. But the way Alex Bregman is taking accountability shows the right mindset in the clubhouse. Especially how he stood by Pete Crow-Armstrong while he was going through some trouble after missed plays in the outfield, and a heated exchange with a female fan. 

As long as the Cubs can keep up this chemistry and take responsibility for their actions, a bounce-back is only a matter of time. And after Counsell’s recent words, there might be some extra efforts in the upcoming games.