Boo birds rain down as Cubs spiral deeper into alarming free fall

The pressure continued to boil over Saturday afternoon at Wrigley Field. After another lifeless offensive performance in a 3-0 loss to the Houston Astros, loud boos echoed throughout the ballpark as the Chicago Cubs dropped their seventh straight game and continued what is quickly becoming one of the ugliest collapses in baseball.

Just over a week ago, Chicago looked firmly in control of its season trajectory. Now, the Cubs suddenly look completely lost offensively, emotionally drained and dangerously close to watching the National League Central race slip away before June even arrives. The frustration inside Wrigley became impossible to ignore during Saturday’s shutout loss. Fans showered the team with boos late in the game as another empty at-bat ended a rally threat. The Cubs managed just three hits all afternoon while striking out nine times and grounding into two crushing double plays.

Even more concerning, this was not some dominant pitching staff overpowering Chicago. The Astros entered the game at 21-31 and sitting near the bottom of the American League West. Yet Houston completely controlled the series again behind two home runs from Christian Walker and another miserable Cubs offensive showing.

Pete Crow-Armstrong move fails to spark offense

Manager Craig Counsell tried to shake things up before first pitch by moving Pete Crow-Armstrong into the leadoff spot while giving Ian Happ a day off. It did not matter.

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Crow-Armstrong finished 1-for-4 with two strikeouts and was caught stealing. Seiya Suzuki went hitless. Michael Busch continued his brutal slump with another 0-for-3 performance and two more strikeouts. Dansby Swanson and Alex Bregman accounted for two of Chicago’s three total hits.

The Cubs have now scored just two runs across the first two games of the series against Houston while their losing streak has ballooned to seven games. That is the kind of stretch that changes the tone around an entire season.

Wrigley Field atmosphere suddenly feels different

The most alarming part for Chicago may be how quickly the energy around the team has shifted. Wrigley Field has largely felt energized throughout the first two months of the season as the Cubs climbed near the top of the division standings. But Saturday sounded different. Fans grew restless early, and by the late innings the boos became impossible to miss.

This no longer feels like a small slump. The Cubs are now 29-23 after once looking like one of the National League’s steadiest teams. Meanwhile, the Milwaukee Brewers continue gaining separation atop the division while the St. Louis Cardinals keep winning behind their young squad.

Chicago still has plenty of talent, especially with Crow-Armstrong continuing to emerge as one of the organization’s biggest long-term building blocks. But right now, none of that matters much to frustrated fans watching a once-promising season suddenly start slipping in the wrong direction.

And at Wrigley on Saturday, the crowd made sure the Cubs heard every bit of that frustration.

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