The Cubs have been pretty good this season following losses.

They entered Monday 19-5 following losses and were beginning a three-game series against the Philadelphia Phillies. This one was tight to the very end, with the contest stretching into extra innings.

The Cubs had lost their first series in eight tries and were shut out in their previous outing, which normally portends an offensive explosion. That didn’t happen on Sunday, and the Cubs lost a close one in a 4-3 decision over the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park.

Here’s what we learned from a game between two National League juggernauts:

Phillies win one late

The Cubs entered extra innings on a mission. They had to squeak by one of the best teams in baseball. That was no easy task.

The Phillies found a way to squeak out a victory over closer Daniel Palencia.

The Cubs scored in the top of the 11^th inning, but JT Realmuto drove a run in the bottom of the inning and scored another to make things official a few batters later. Brando Marsh hit a sacrifice fly to win the game.

The late-game mistake was not scoring a second time in the inning, allowing the Phillies to get in position to win the game with two runs. The first one is easier, considering they’re spotted a runner in extra innings. Craig Counsell was ejected for a second time in as many games and the Cubs’ frustration was on full display late in this one, where a time that doesn’t lose often lost twice in as many game.

Pressly’s performance

Cubs fans were justified in writing off Ryan Pressly a month ago.

He had allowed eight runs in the 11th inning of an extra innings loss to the San Francisco Giants, while failing to record an out. It was the low point of his season, and the veteran was demoted from leverage duties after that.

It will take some time for the season numbers to come down, but he’s been good of late and Monday’s outing was really, really encouraging.

Yes, he allowed a single and a hit by pitch, but it’s the stuff that was encouraging. Five of his eight fastballs in the seventh inning were 94.8-mph or harder. One of them clocked in at 95.4 mph, the hardest he’s thrown this season. He’s been averaging 93 mph this season on his fastball, two ticks slower than what it was from 2021-2023, when he was one of the game’s best relievers.

The Cubs knew when they acquired him in an offseason swap with the Houston Astros that his velocity had been down but believed he could still be a viable bullpen weapon. The increase in the radar gun, coupled with the results – he has pitched 11 scoreless innings in 12 outings since that game against the Giants – should be a welcome sign for the Cubs.

His experience is nothing to scoff at – it’s already had an impact on Daniel Palencia who has emerged as a leverage option amidst Pressly’s struggles. It’s invaluable to have a reliever who knows what it takes to not only get through a 162-game season, but the rigors of a potentially lengthy postseason.

It gives Craig Counsell another weapon to use, too. While Brad Keller, Drew Pomeranz and Palencia have emerged as Counsell’s top leverage options, he knows he can’t rely on just three guys the rest of the way.

Picking off

Matthew Boyd’s pickoff move is good. The Cubs saw that firsthand early in spring and knew it was a weapon in his arsenal.

The left-hander showcased that in the third inning. He nabbed the speedy Trea Turner at first base to end the inning.

But it’s not flawless, either.

Two innings later, Boyd attempted a pickoff attempt on Otto Kemp and the throw sailed past Michael Busch at first base, allowing the rookie to advance to third. He’d score on Weston Wilson’s single to give the Phillies the lead.

Boyd’s pickoff will be a weapon, that’s for certain. But in a game like Monday’s series opener where runs will be at a premium, any little mistake can be magnified.