MILWAUKEE — The eighth inning of the Cubs’ 6-4 loss to the Brewers on Thursday mimicked much of the last week: They threatened to break out of their rut, then fell right back into it.

While most of the lineup has simply struggled this month, third baseman Christopher Morel has been unlucky, making hard contact but having little to show for it.

But with the Cubs trailing by a run in the eighth, he drilled an outside fastball the other way at 104.3 mph. He rounded first base with his eyes trained on the right-field wall, watching the ball fall beyond it to tie the score at 4. His celebration was so exuberant, he left the ground. Maybe, just maybe, the Cubs could scrape out a series split in Milwaukee.

Then, in the bottom of the inning, the Brewers’ Gary Sanchez mashed a two-run homer. And the Cubs dropped the series 3-1.

“We’re in a tough stretch,” manager Craig Counsell said. “When you’re in a tough stretch, it feels like you don’t get breaks. We’ve got to make our own breaks. And we’ll keep doing that.”

The Cubs have lost seven of their last eight and 10 of their last 13. Thursday’s loss dropped their record below .500 for the first time since March 30, three games into the season.

The trouble with going through a tough stretch against division opponents is that each loss has larger implications in the standings. On Thursday, the Cardinals (27-27) jumped the Cubs (28-29) to take second place in the National League Central behind the Brewers (33-23). And the Brewers widened the gap between themselves and the Cubs to 5½ games.

“We kind of went through something like this last year, and we came out on the other side stronger as a group,” said Cubs starting pitcher Jameson Taillon, who limited the Brewers to three runs through six innings. “It’s tough right now, there’s no doubt. But at the same time, just got to keep going.”

For a while, a teamwide offensive slump was the clear issue. But as the offense has shown signs of life, the Cubs are finding new ways to lose. On Wednesday, their best pitcher, Shota Imanaga, gave up seven runs — his first rough start since coming from Japan.

On Thursday, the Cubs hit three home runs for the first time since May 4 — a solo shot from Cody Bellinger in the first, the first pinch-hit homer of Seiya Suzuki’s career for two runs in the seventh and Morel’s long ball in the eighth — and still lost. They’ve only hit three-plus homers four other times this season and won each of those games.

“There’s no consolation prizes here,” Counsell said of the offensive improvement. “There’s a game the next day, and we’ve got to do it tomorrow.”

The Cubs built themselves a cushion in April by playing above expectations amid tough stretch of the schedule and a slew of injuries. But with the calendar about to turn to June, that cushion is gone.

“The hard thing about baseball is that things don’t really go your way,” Suzuki said through his interpreter. “But it’s just fighting through it. And I think we’re all trying to work together to get those wins little by little. It’s all about staying persistent, and just keep on working.”