The Cubs' offense isn't broken right now, but it's the reason they stumbled into second place in the NL Wild Card.

That may sound silly given the Cubs led the league in runs (850), RBI (804), slugging (.428), wRC+ (114), and fWAR (37.8) this season. But over their final 10 games, the Cubs offense had their power zapped, some of which had to do with Alex Bregman missing three games with a facial fracture.

But taking a look, the Cubs ranked 24th in runs, 23rd in RBI, 18th in slugging, 16th in wRC+, and have a 1.2 fWAR but a -2.3 fWAR offensively. Craig Counsell talked about not squaring up balls versus Michael King last night, but what's really been lacking from the Cubs is the home run ball.

They hit just nine of them in their final 10 games and had a 5-5 record to show for it, leading to the Cubs slipping to the second Wild Card spot in the standings. Looking at the batted-ball numbers for the Cubs, their soft contact and ground balls are up. Their fly balls and line drives are also down from their season numbers.

And while the Cubs are still striking out at roughly the same rate, they're actually walking slightly less right now, with their walk rate sliding from a league-best 10.6% to 8.7% over their last 10 games. In summation, their bats are struggling to hit for power and are walking at a worse clip, creating a black hole of offensive dysfunction for the Cubs.

Not great, Craig!

How Do the Cubs Wake Up Their Offense?

As much as the Chicago Cubs would like to smack home runs again, postseason baseball means you're seeing the best of the best. Now, Nick Pivetta isn't an elite arm, but he does have a 1.42 ERA in four starts since returning from an elbow injury. So if Pivetta is on tonight, the Cubs will have to find a way to create offense.

That starts with the Cubs seeing more pitches. The Cubs have three hitters who see four or more pitches per plate appearance: Seiya Suzuki (4.31), Ian Happ (4.26), and Pete Crow-Armstrong (3.99), with Alex Bregman and Michael Busch not far behind them either.

Make Pivetta labor through each at-bat and hope to push him out of the game early. Ideally, he makes a mistake to a Cubs batter. And once the Cubs get on base, they need to be aggressive and annoying. Be a distraction to Pivetta, be ready to run first to third – attempt to take every advantage you can.

Let players like PCA or Nico Hoerner create chaos on the bases and put pressure on the Padres to play clean baseball. However, that all starts with getting on base. And if the Cubs bats can't connect on extra-base hits, they need to be taking their walks and seeing as many pitches as possible each at-bat.

The Cubs have shown all season that they can score in a variety of ways. Now, they need to find ways to manufacture runs and keep their season alive.

Sign up for our free newsletter to stay up-to-date with all things Chicago Cubs.