Monday through Friday, the Cubs lost at San Diego, 5-0; were swept at Anaheim, 7-4, 6-3 and 3-1; then won at San Francisco, 3-2.
Those games comprised the 298th time since 1901 that the Cubs have scored exactly 10 runs in a span of 5 games.
It was the 46th of those times in which they scored a different number of runs, 0 through 4, in each game.
It was the first of those 46 in which they scored all of their runs in each game in a single inning.
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PREVIOUS BEST
The Cubs had turned that trick during the first 4 games of just 1 of the earlier 45 spans of 0-4, more than 70 years ago.
On Friday, June 20, 1952, they scored 3 runs in the second inning against the Giants at the Polo Grounds, then lost, 4-3 in the 10th.
The next day, the Cubs only runs in a 6-2 defeat came in the ninth.
A Sunday doubleheader was rained out, as was the Monday opener of a series at Philadelphia.
The Cubs dropped 2 games to the Phillies on Tuesday, 6-0 and 2-1.
They won on Wednesday, 4-1, by scoring once in 4 innings.
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In 1926, the Cubs scored 1 and 0 runs, then 2 in the same inning. The following day, they scored 4: 3 in fourth and 1 in the ninth.
In 2005, the Cubs scored 0 and 1 run, then 4 in 1 inning. They scored 3 the next day, 2 in the second and 1 in the sixth.
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INCREASINGLY RARE
The latest span of 5 games with totals of 0-4 runs is only the 8th in the past 30 years and the first in nearly 8 years. They did it once in 2001, twice in 2005, once each in 2009 and 2014, then twice in 2015.
The last in 2015 was July 10-18, by scores of 0-1, 1-5 and 3-1 at home against the White Sox, followed by 2-4 and 4-0 at Atlanta.
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3 OPPONENTS, ALL ON ROAD
The Cubs latest span is the 13th of the 46 that took place against 3 teams.
It is just the 8th in which all 5 games were on the road.
The previous one was Sept. 6-12, 1965, when the Cubs lost all 5: 1-2, at Houston; 0-1 at Los Angeles; and 2-5, 4-6 and 3-4 at San Francisco.
Sandy Koufax pitched a perfect game in the defeat at Dodger Stadium.
The only earlier such span was June 5-11, 1947: 3-9 at New York, 2-6 at Brooklyn and 0-1, 1-2 and 4-0 at Boston.
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1 OPPONENT, ALL GAMES
On July 30-Aug. 1, 1957, the Cubs had a 5-game, 10-run, 0-4 span in a single series for the only time, at home against the Dodgers.
The first day, they split a doubleheader, 0-1 and 4-3.
The second, they lost twice, 2-3 and 1-2.
The third, they lost once, 3-12.
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On Sept. 3-5, 1905, they played all 5 games against the same opponent, the Pirates, but at 2 sites.
The first day, they split a pair at Chicago, 1-0 and 0-1.
The second, they lost twice at Pittsburgh, 2-3 and 3-4.
The third, they lost, 4-6.
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BLANKED TO BEGIN
The latest 5-game, 10-run, 0-4 span is the 9th among the 46 in which the Cubs failed to score in the first game.
They followed only 2 of those 9 by scoring 1 run in the next game, in 2005 and 2015. Then they scored 3 and 4 runs, respectively, in the third games.
Oddly, the latest span is the 5th that began with no runs, then 4.
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4-RUN START
Only 4 of the 46 spans began with 4 runs.
In 1960 and 2014, they Cubs were blanked in the second game. In 1989, they scored 2 runs.
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On Thursday, May 30, 1901, when the Cubs were known as the Orphans, they played a Memorial Day doubleheader at Boston. They won the first game, 4-3 and lost the second, 3-5.
After a travel day, they lost at home to the Cardinals on Saturday, 2-9.
The next day, they hosted the Pirates and were beaten, 1-6, failing to score until 2 out in the ninth.
Then the Orphans were blanked by Boston on Monday, 3-0, to conclude the team's first 5-game, 10-run, 0-4 span of the Modern Era.
It remains the only one in which they scored 4, 3, 2, 1 and 0 runs in order.
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<b>3 IN 19TH CENTURY</b>
The Cubs had a trio of 5-game, 10-run, 0-4 spans before 1901.
The first was Aug. 9-14, 1878, when the team was known as the White Stockings, the league had only 6 teams, and the schedule was just 60 games.
They lost at Boston, 0-3 and 1-2, then lost, 3-5, tied at 4 and lost 2-3 at Providence.
Both of the others came in 1892, when they were the Colts, there were 12 teams and the schedule was 148 games.
They lost Game 2 of a doubleheader on April 19 at Cincinnati, 0-3, then lost, 2-7 and 1-3, at Louisville. They beat the Colonels at home, 4-2, and lost, 3-6, at Cleveland.
From July 13-19, the beat the Phillies at home, 1-0, then lost, 4-5 and 2-9, at Brooklyn, and 3-13 and 0-7 at Philadelphia.
Those 3 were among 19 spans in the 19th Century during which they scored 10 runs in 5 games.
So, since 1876, the Cubs have had a grand total of 317 such spans, including 49 that consisted of 0-4 runs in 1 game each.
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OTHER 5-GAME, 10-RUN SPANS OF NOTE
From Sept. 1-5, 2000, the Cubs lost 3 games at San Francisco and 2 at Colorado while scoring 2 runs in each game.
From April 27-May 2, 1992, they were shut out in 4 straight games, 3 at Atlanta and 1 at Cincinnati, before beating the Reds, 10-3.
From Sept. 19-21, 1911, the scores of the 5 games were 0-2, 1-0, 0-4, 0-4 and 9-2.
From June 19-23, 1978, the Cubs won at Pittsburgh, 6-4, then scored 1 run in each of 4 straight losses, 2 to the Pirates and 2 at Philadelphia.
