PITTSBURGH -- The season can't get over fast enough for the Chicago Cubs who were pushed to the brink of playoff elimination after a sloppy 9-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday night, the Cubs' seventh consecutive defeat.
"I didn't expect this to be happening," losing pitcher Kyle Hendricks said afterward. "We weren't prepared for this at all. It's just unfortunate this group couldn't come together and get the job done."
After getting swept at home in a four-game series by the St. Louis Cardinals over the weekend, the Cubs' last hope came in facing the lowly Pirates -- a team that has been marred by infighting, a player's arrest and a nine-game losing streak.
None of that made a difference for the visitors, who made five errors behind Hendricks. The right-hander actually took a no-hitter into the sixth inning but Kevin Newman broke it up with a single. One inning later, Hendricks was out of the game as the Pirates scored seven runs in the seventh.
"I really thought he had a shot at a seven- or eight-inning no-hitter," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. "Then it just went away, brother, it just went away.
"It's a frustrating game."
The Cubs became the third team this decade to commit five or more errors in two separate games as they made six back on April 1 against the Atlanta Braves. It's been a season-long theme for them; the club is challenging the San Diego Padres for most miscues in the National League this season.
A loss to Pittsburgh on Wednesday, or a Milwaukee Brewers victory, will eliminate the Cubs from postseason contention after they made it to October the past four years.
"You don't ever envision failing," outfielder Jason Heyward said. "But you understand you're going to fail at times. It's cliché, but how are you going to handle it? What are you going to do about it?"
The Cubs are running out of time to do anything about it right now, but the front office is sure to make major changes this offseason. Unless a miracle happens, it'll be the longest winter for the franchise since 2014.
"Some guys have come into this and only won," Heyward said of the Cubs four-year run. "They only know postseason. For those guys this will be new for them."