Cubs bats remain silent in 11-1 loss to Mets

Left steering wheel Ian Happ » slammed his helmet in frustration after he retired in the sixth inning, his second of the game. The helmet hit summed up the Cubs’ performance at the plate in Friday’s 11-1 loss to the Mets.

For 6 ⅓ innings against the starter José Quintanathe Cubs (36-40) managed only four hits, two of which came from center fielder Cody Bellinger. Recipient Miguel Amaya got the first non-Bellinger hit after his fifth-inning single to left field.

The Cubs had a great opportunity to score in the first inning with a bases loaded situation, but the team only managed one run.

Since May 1, the Cubs have slashed .224/.307/.359 with a weighted runs created total of 92, which is eight runs below league average and 22nd in the majors. The team is also hitting .216 with runners in scoring position after hitting .272 last season.

Shortstop Dansby Swanson had no answer to the team’s offensive problems.

“It’s a little hard to say,” Swanson said. “Sometimes you hit balls and they get caught, and sometimes you do, and they don’t. We have a lot of confidence in our guys here to be able to produce in important situations. We can’t wait to launch here soon.

Despite returning most of last year’s roster, it’s fair to wonder if the offense that scored the sixth-most runs in the majors is still here 76 games into the season. Assembling quality bats has been a challenge for the Cubs.

With the Cubs about a month away from the trade deadline — and deadlines spurring movement — it’s up to the current group of hitters to turn things around.

“We have a lot of really good, skilled players here,” Swanson said. “A lot of young guys are very capable of doing big things in this game; it’s just about integrating everything. We have been able to show signs of it here recently and we believe in what lies ahead.

“He did a great job transforming himself into something different”

Reliever Tyson Miller became an unsung hero of the Cubs bullpen. Miller, who the Cubs acquired via trade after being designated for assignment by the Mariners, has a 1.23 ERA over 14 ⅔ innings. An extra sweeper has helped Miller with his strong play of late.

“He’s done a great job of transforming himself into something different and, frankly, more effective,” the manager said Craig Advisor said. “It made him a better pitcher.”

Opponents are hitting .133 against the sweeper. Miller’s emergence was needed after reliever injuries Adbert Alzolay, Julien Merryweather And Yency Almonte. Right-handed Hector Neriswho assumed closing duties after Alzolay’s forearm injury, shakes.

Entering Friday’s game, Neris had the sixth-highest walk rate per nine innings (6.75) and the fifth-highest walk rate (16.5%).

Brown update

Although the Cubs received some promising news regarding the hard-throwing rookie Ben BrownBecause of the stress reaction in his neck, Counsell said it’s not an everyday situation. The team will continue to allow Brown to progress while operating cautiously.

“We’re just going to increase activity as long as there are no symptoms,” Counsell said. “It could go pretty quickly here, but we’re also going to be careful about recreating the symptoms.”