Cubs open three-game set in Baltimore with a familiar problem, losing the first game of series again

The Chicago Cubs begin a three-game series in Baltimore Tuesday, trying to stop a pattern that has defined the past stretch of their season. According to a preview from Yahoo Sports, the Cubs are in another 10-game losing streak, and they have lost the opener of each of their last 10 series. That stands in contrast to a strong start in which they won the first game of their first 11 series, then slid into a six-game losing stretch before rebuilding to two wins. The latest downturn has followed the same “first game” theme, leaving Chicago to play catch-up almost immediately.

The numbers behind the trend are stark. Yahoo Sports reported that the Cubs are 13-16 in games designated as their first game of a series, 15-14 in second games, 18-10 in third games, and a perfect 4-0 in fourth games. In other words, the Cubs have shown they can win when they are established in a series, but the opening day of each matchup has been where momentum consistently drains away.

The swing has also shown up in Chicago’s run production, especially at home. Yahoo Sports noted that last Wednesday, the Cubs hit eight home runs in a home span of 45 plate appearances against the Padres, tying a club record. Yet after that outburst, the power evaporated, with the Cubs reported to have hit none in their last 109 plate appearances at the time of the preview. The preview also described three straight games without a homer as their second-longest homerless run of the season, after four in a row earlier in the year.

On Tuesday, a key question for the Cubs is whether they can bridge that gap early enough to make the innings easier for their starters and bullpen. The preview said Matthew Boyd had returned from the injured list and was using the current stretch as a platform, allowing 12 hits and three runs in 9.2 innings across two starts since coming back. He is not a face-the-opponent story in this preview, but it does frame Chicago’s need for steadiness, especially when the lineup is not providing the same cushion it produced during the club-record power burst.

There is also a broader timing angle to this Baltimore trip. Yahoo Sports reported that the Cubs’ current streak began June 12 at Pittsburgh, meaning the losing run did not come in a single isolated stretch. The preview’s “first game” split suggests Chicago has been capable of regrouping after the initial loss, but the consistent problem at the start of each series makes the road ahead feel less like a sequence of resets and more like an ongoing uphill grind.

For the Orioles, the opportunity is straightforward: take advantage of a visiting team that, by its own recent splits, has struggled to begin series successfully. For the Cubs, the focus is equally clear. If they can avoid another opener loss and get at least one extra base early, the same series that has been defined by setbacks could become a short-term correction instead of another chapter in the streak.

Tuesday’s game at 5:35 CT opens the three-game window, and the next two contests will clarify whether the Cubs’ late-series improvement can overcome the opening-game failure mode. The power drought is another storyline to watch, but in the short term, the most immediate benchmark will be whether Chicago can break the “first-game of the series” spell and make Baltimore play from behind rather than ahead.