Remember when the Cubs starting rotation was supposed to be the strength of the team?



Aside from Yu Darvish and Kyle Hendricks, Tommy Hottovy’s starters aren’t pitching like they’re ready to carry the team through a playoff series.



Cole Hamels hasn’t seen the sixth inning since August and in nine starts since returning from the injured list, he has a 6.39 ERA. Since dropping his ERA below 4 in mid-August, José Quintana has given up 20 runs (17 earned) in his last five starts while allowing an .881 OPS against. And while Jon Lester has a proven ability to battle through difficult times, he’s still given up five or more runs in five of his last nine starts.



But what’s saved the Cubs from disaster is their bullpen.



The relievers have allowed just three runs in their last 25 1/3 innings. They lead all of baseball with a second-half bullpen ERA of 3.46 and they’re sixth overall on the year with a 3.89 ERA.