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Pressure is on Bryant, Rizzo to save Cubs' season

Jerry Lai / USA TODAY Sports

The Chicago Cubs are in the unenviable position of returning home down 2-0 in the National League Championship Series against the best team from baseball's regular season, the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Cubs coming within striking distance of a second consecutive World Series appearance shouldn't come as a surprise, but the lack of punch shown at the plate is alarming.

The struggles of 2016 MVP Kris Bryant and first baseman Anthony Rizzo - together, known colloquially as Bryzzo - are cause for alarm.

Old habits die hard for Bryant

In the Cubs' seven postseason games, Bryant has hit .179/.207/.250 while striking out in 44.8 percent of his plate appearances. He's no stranger to the strikeout, but he's made considerable strides in that department since his rookie campaign.

Bryant has taken his strikeout rate from 30.6 to 19.2 over his three full seasons, while raising his walk rate from 8.1 to 14.3. He's becoming more patient, but that hasn't continued in the playoffs.

Strikeouts are going to happen, especially in the postseason when facing the best pitchers left standing, but Bryant going down on strikes nearly half the time he steps into the box has virtually erased his effectiveness and value.

Rizzo's OBP prowess has vanished

Rizzo hasn't been better. With Game 2 up for grabs, Rizzo went 0-for-3 with a pair of strikeouts dropping his postseason batting line to .154/.241/.308.

It's surprising because the lefty jumped out of the gate in the first two games of the NLDS against the Washington Nationals. Before that series shifted to Wrigley Field for Game 3, Rizzo had gone 3-for-8 with a home run and four RBIs. He's gone 1-for-18 since.

The strikeouts also seem anomalous for the man who was one of the toughest to punch out in the regular season. Part of his problem in the NLCS could be linked to facing two top-notch left-handed starters in Clayton Kershaw and Rich Hill, but Rizzo has actually hit a career .250 against fellow southpaws, hardly disastrous.

Despite all that, Rizzo leads the Cubs in RBIs with six, which leads to another problem.

The supporting cast isn't helping

In a perfect world for Cubs fans, Javier Baez and Jason Heyward are able to hit enough to soften the pain brought about by Bryant's and Rizzo's issues. Not so.

Baez is 0-for-19 in the playoffs. He's basically been an automatic out despite drawing a pair of walks. Heyward has only been marginally better, hitting .133/.278/.133 in six games.

No full-time Cubs hitter has a batting average better than Albert Almora Jr.'s paltry .231. No one has hit multiple home runs. Bryant and Rizzo suddenly turning it on would be the quick fix they need, but for a comeback to be truly viable they require a bit more from everybody. When everyone struggles, however, it's the faces of the franchise who bear the brunt of the responsibility. The buck stops at Bryzzo.

(Photos courtsey: Action Images)

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