The Chicago Cubs won't be playing October baseball for the first time since 2014.

The Cubs (82-76) were officially eliminated from playoff contention Wednesday night when the Milwaukee Brewers defeated the Cincinnati Reds. Chicago also ended up dropping its eighth straight contest with a loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates in what turned out to be a meaningless game.

Left-hander Jon Lester said postgame his team simply didn't show up for the late-season playoff push.

"That's what I think draws people to this game," Lester said, according to Jordan Bastian of MLB.com. "You play seven months to come down to this last week. There's teams like us that are tucking our tails between our legs and going home. And there's teams like the Brewers and the Cardinals that are moving on."

Chicago's streak of four straight postseason appearances was the longest in franchise history, according to ESPN Stats & Info.

The team owns a payroll north of $218 million, but that hasn't translated to much on-field success. The Cubs will fail to win 90 games this season after posting 97, 103, 92, and 95 victories in their last four campaigns.

The Cubs still own the NL Central's best run differential (+102), but recent injuries have taken a toll on the team. All-Star Javier Baez went down with a thumb injury in early September, and sluggers Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant both suffered recent ankle ailments.

Chicago's bullpen was a major weakness all season, despite Craig Kimbrel signing a substantial multi-year contract with the team in June. The seven-time All-Star owns a 6.53 ERA with only 13 saves while the team has collectively blown the second-most saves (28) in the Senior Circuit.

Joe Maddon's future, meanwhile, is murky. The veteran manager is in the last year of a five-year contract he signed in 2014, but president of baseball operations Theo Epstein declined to comment on the skipper's status ahead of Wednesday's game.