The Cubs-Brewers series began with Jed Hoyer explaining his team’s unenviable position at the trade deadline.

Hoyer did leave an opening for his team to put together a run like last season and rattle off a bunch of wins prior to next week’s deadline.

The Cubs went out and did that for Game 1, topping the Brewers Monday night.

But after a 1-0 loss Tuesday night, the Cubs missed their chance to claim the series win Wednesday afternoon.

Clinging to a 2-1 lead after the 3rd inning, the Cubs allowed solo tallies in the 6th and 9th innings as the Brewers eked out a 3-2 victory.

That leaves the Cubs at 49-55 after a crucial homestand in which they went just 2-4 in the 6 games coming out of the All-Star Break.

Justin Steele wasn’t the most efficient version of himself – needing 98 pitches to get 16 outs – but he only allowed 2 runs (1 of which came after he exited the ballgame).

Offensively, the Cubs didn’t have many chances again, with their only runs coming on a 2-out broken-bat single by Ian Happ in the 1st inning and a solo homer from Seiya Suzuki in the 3rd.

They left 5 more runners on base and went 1-for-4 with runners in scoring position – both common themes on the homestand. The Cubs scored only 9 runs in 6 games on the homestand.

Those 9 runs represent the second-lowest total by an MLB team since the All-Star Break:

In the Brewers series, the Cubs pitching staff allowed just 5 runs but wound up losing 2 out of 3.

“We pitched well, we didn’t score enough runs,” Craig Counsell said, summing up the homestand.

The Cubs lineup hit .191 with a .271 on-base percentage and .258 slugging percentage (.529 OPS) during the 6-game homestand. They left 50 runners on base and batted .179 (7-for-39) with runners in scoring position.

Meanwhile, the pitching staff has been the best in baseball over the last 17 games with an MLB-leading 2.19 ERA in that span:

The Cubs have now played 37 1-run games this season and are 15-22 in those contests.

While he admitted it is tough to play in so many tense, close games, Steele acknowledged that the Cubs have to keep fighting back.

“You just keep showing up every day and putting your hard hat on, going to work,” Steele said.

After an off-day Thursday, the Cubs hit the road for a 3-game set against the Royals in Kansas City beginning Friday evening.