BOX SCORE

The Chicago Cubs hoped Saturday was the start of their offense regaining their footing.

That wasn’t the case.

The Cubs scraped just two runs — on a two-run homer from Matt Shaw — as they fell to the St. Louis Cardinals 3-2 in the series finale Sunday at Busch Stadium. The loss drops the Cubs (67-50) to six games behind the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central.

The Cardinals (60-59) are three games back of the final spot in the NL wild card standings after selling at the July 31 MLB trade deadline.

Here are three takeaways from the Cubs’ loss:

Shota’s outing

Shota Imanaga was stellar, as he struck out a season-high nine batters and turned in a quality start by scattering just four hits across 6.2 innings.

But the Cubs left-hander’s outing ended on a sour note. He allowed a two-out single to Jordan Walker in the seventh inning, the Cardinals right fielder stole second, and Imanaga then permitted a Nolan Gorman RBI single that gave the Cardinals the lead.

It was another strong outing from Imanaga and the type of performance you expect from your ace, but when the offense is struggling, the smallest of mistakes looked magnified.

Craig Counsell and the Cubs gladly would have taken 20 outs and three runs from Imanaga before the game, but they need the offense to find its groove.

Offensive woes return

For a night, it looked like the Cubs had the type of performance to snap them out of their offensive funk. Scoring nine runs in the first five innings Saturday will do that.

But the Cubs’ bats are just in a really bad funk right now. They mustered seven hits — and only one for extra bases — in Sunday’s loss.

The Cubs still have scored the second-most runs in baseball, but they’re just not bopping their way to runs and wins like they were in the first half of the season. Since the All-Star break, the Cubs are slugging just .398, 20th in MLB.

They’re also not getting the big hit when they need it. With Seiya Suzuki at first base and two outs in the eighth, Kyle Tucker had a knock, but it was a single, and the Cubs stranded the tying run at third when Carson Kelly grounded out.

Then there was drama in the ninth.

Justin Turner pinch hit for Pete Crow-Armstrong. The Cubs center fielder played like an MVP in the first half of the season, so it was notable to see him be pinch hit for as Cubs manager Craig Counsell opted for the platoon advantage against Cardinals left-hander JoJo Romero. Turner flew out, and Ian Happ then drew a walk.

Counsell pinch ran Jon Berti for Happ, and he was called out on a stolen base attempt. On review, he clearly beat the tag at the base, but he appeared to pop off the bag, so the call stood.

The Cubs followed with two singles before Shaw grounded into a fielder’s choice to end the game.

Red-hot Shaw

Shaw continued his second-half breakout Sunday night — and did so with a clutch knock.

The rookie third baseman hit a two-run, game-tying homer in the fifth inning, and it proved to be the only offense for the Cubs.  

Shaw has been red-hot since the MLB All-Star Game last month, slashing .339/.361/.797 (1.157 OPS) with seven home runs and 15 RBI. He entered Sunday’s contest with a 207 weighted runs created plus — 100 is league average — showcasing just how locked in he is at the plate.

At a time when the bulk of the Cubs’ lineup has been stuck in the mud, Shaw has been a consistent presence since the Midsummer Classic.

The Cubs’ hope is their star hitters — Tucker, Suzuki, Crow-Armstrong and Michael Busch — can snap out of their funk and help the offense revert to the juggernaut it was to start the year. And if they do that and Shaw continues to be an asset at the hot corner, it really will elongate the lineup.