Cubs Veteran, Booed at Home, Rips Self For Failing in Clutch

Alex Bregman batted five times against the San Francisco Giants on June 7. He led off an inning the first three times and went 0-for-3. In the eighth inning of a 1-1 game, he grounded into a double play. In the 10th inning with the Cubs trailing 2-1 and a runner on third base, Bregman popped out to end the game.

The Cubs’ loss to the Giants wasn’t all Bregman’s fault. But it made them 2-4 to start the month of June, and dropped them into a tie with the Pittsburgh Pirates for third place in the National League Central.

After the game, Bregman reacted with rare candor toward his contribution to the team’s slump.

"I've been terrible,” Bregman said, via ESPN’s Jesse Rogers. “I need to play better. Offensively, its been awful. I've failed many times in this game. I've struggled. I've started slow before, I've started fast before. When you're struggling, there is only one way forward and that's straight, head-on through it. It comes down to executing in the game. I haven't executed all year. Runners in scoring position, I've been god-awful. I need to be better. If I'm better over the last how many games, we probably win the majority of them."

Bregman was booed multiple times at Wrigley Field during the series, which saw the Giants (27-39) win two of the three games.

It doesn’t help that Bregman was the Cubs’ prized acquisition in last winter’s free agency period. He signed a five-year, $175 million contract with the Cubs on January 11. Bregman will make $35 million this year.

So far, his .669 OPS is on pace to be the worst of his 11-year MLB career.

"Those can be directed at me because I haven't come through with guys in scoring position,” Bregman said, via Rogers. “I have plenty of chances. Guys are getting on-base in front of me all the time."

Bregman isn’t lying. Through June 7, only three men - including Cubs teammate Ian Happ - have batted more times with runners in scoring position this season than Bregman. In 84 plate appearances, Bregman is slashing hitting .173 with a .250 on-base percentage.

Put differently, no hitter has made more outs this season with runners in scoring position than Bregman. And he doesn’t need those numbers to realize he must improve.

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This story was originally published June 8, 2026 at 3:11 PM.