3 Cubs to blame for collapse continuing with series loss to Pirates

The mid-collapse Chicago Cubs are still waiting for their first series win since Sept. 6.

Fans might have looked at the series against the Pittsburgh Pirates as a prime opportunity to get back on track, especially after Tuesday's 14-1 victory. But whatever juice Chicago had in that game was depleted in the following two.

On Wednesday, they lost 13-7. They followed that up with an equally frustrating 8-6 loss on Thursday to close the series.

Now that another series loss is in the books, it's time to play the blame game.

Cubs to blame for series loss to Pirates: No. 3 Dansby Swanson

Dansby Swanson is supposed to be the Cubs' main man. He's the guy the team should be able to turn to when they need a run. And he's been absolutely terrible at that lately.

In Wednesday's loss to the Pirates, Swanson was 0-of-3 with runners in scoring position. In two of those scenarios, he struck out in four pitches or less.

The issues continue on Thursday with three more blanks on RISP opportunities. The worst of those was a four-pitch strikeout with the bases loaded in the bottom of the third.

And on Thursday he added a costly error in the top of the third which helped lead to Pittsburgh's opening two runs.

In the middle of a potential collapse, it's vital for the Cubs' best players to up their game. Swanson hasn't done it outside of an ultimately meaningless ninth-inning home run on Thursday.