PITTSBURGH -- At about the time the Milwaukee Brewers were popping champagne for another postseason appearance on Wednesday night, Chicago Cubs reliever David Phelps was throwing his second consecutive wild pitch, allowing the lead run to score in a 4-2 Cubs defeat to the lowly Pittsburgh Pirates.
It would be the team's eighth straight loss, as that duo of wild pitches was emblematic of a sloppy season of baseball for the 2016 world champions. In getting eliminated from postseason contention on Wednesday, they officially bottomed out.