Chicago Cubs Clearly Need Bullpen Upgrades After Historic Loss

The Chicago Cubs played a wild, back-and-forth game on Tuesday night that saw them blow the lead and signal this team desperately needs bullpen upgrades.

Mar 31, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; Chicago Cubs relief pitcher Adbert Alzolay (73) pitches / Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

On Monday night, the Chicago Cubs were celebrating following their incredible comeback victory that saw them tie things up in the top of the ninth inning before winning in the 11th.

On Tuesday night, they walked off the field wondering how they were the ones who blew a late lead and lost in extra-innings.

That's really been the story for the Cubs this season.

Their offense is one of the best in the league, ranking eighth with 96 runs scored entering Wednesday's slate. Their pitching staff has left a lot to be desired with shaky performances from starters not named Shota Imanaga, and a bullpen who has an ERA of 4.40.

All of this was on display Tuesday.

Kyle Hendricks put Chicago in a hole early when giving up four runs through three innings. Their offense then came back in the fifth to take a 5-4 lead. Then, their starter was trotted back out there and gave up more runs alongside reliever Luke Little to give an 8-5 lead right back to the Arizona Diamondbacks.

But, once again, the offense came to the rescue.

In the seventh inning, they scored six runs that was punctuated by Ian Happ's grand slam which was also his first homer of the season.

They did all of that only to allow the Diamondbacks to come back again and win 12-11 in extras.

Based on the offensive output that the Cubs put together, this was a historic loss.

In the last 100 years, 2 MLB teams have had a game with at least:

4 doubles
3 triples
2 innings with 4+ runs
1 grand slam

The 1927 Yankees did it and won 21-1 (on July 4).

The Cubs did it last night and lost.

— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) April 17, 2024

As these rare statistics suggest, the only team who has ever done that before went on to win.

Chicago didn't.

Despite the issues that Hendricks continues to have when he's thrown out on the mound, the Cubs were still able to come back and hold what should have been a commanding three-run lead heading into the bottom half of the seventh inning.

But their bullpen problems reared its ugly head again.

This is something that plagued Chicago last season during their playoff push.

They tried to address it this winter by making free agent signings and acquisitions, but there is still something missing.

Closer Adbert Alzolay leads the MLB in blown saves, having closed only three out of his six opportunities.

The Cubs will likely be buyers at the trade deadline, and they should already have a list put together of top bullpen arms who they will go after so they can shore up this unit.