Limping into regular-season finale, can Cubs find themselves in time for playoff success?

The poorest part about the Cubs’ poor week at the end of the regular season?

The poor timing.

They still could end the season on a winning note and head into the playoffs with a little momentum by beating the Red Sox in a weather-shifted finale Sunday in St. Petersburg, Florida.

But regardless of what happens at Tropicana Field, the Cubs will end the season with back-to-back series losses after dropping two of three at home to the Marlins and getting swept in a doubleheader Friday in Boston.

The common theme has been a lack of runs, with the Cubs scoring only six in three games against the Marlins and three in the doubleheader, all coming in Game 1.

The cool, windy and rainy conditions at Wrigley Field and Fenway Park undoubtedly made hitting difficult. But it has been nine runs — and only one home run — in the last five games for the highest-scoring team in the majors.

That the Cubs were still, entering play Saturday, the highest-scoring team should remind any panicky observers that this lineup is still capable of putting up big run totals.

A shift indoors Sunday in St. Petersburg could get them back into the swing of things. At least, that’s what they hope.

‘‘We have all the confidence in the world in this group,’’ left fielder Ian Happ said Friday. ‘‘And we get to play in a dome on Sunday, some neutral conditions. It will be good for some guys to get some knocks and carry some momentum [into the playoffs].’’

But there’s only one more day for the Cubs to get right before the games become as meaningful as they get and the bright lights of the postseason start shining.

For the Cubs, that’s not a scary thing. It’s what they’ve been playing for all season.

‘‘You grow up as a kid watching playoff baseball, and it’s the best kind of baseball there is,’’ third baseman Alex Bregman said. ‘‘Every pitch, whether you’re on defense or on offense or running the bases, just means so much. The pressure is at an all-time high. The fans are having a blast. Games are close. It’s the best pitchers versus the best hitters on every team.

‘‘There’s nothing like playoff baseball. You want to do it every single year.’’

Bregman has reached the playoffs in each of the last 10 seasons. A two-time World Series champion, he knows what it takes. He knows these Cubs can do it. But it’s about getting the job done.

‘‘We’ve got to go play good baseball; we’ve got to play winning baseball,’’ Bregman said. ‘‘Whether that’s at home or on the road, it comes down to us executing on both sides of the ball.

‘‘The guys are looking forward to the challenge. . . . We’re looking forward to having fun with all of that.’’

Things have been better on the pitching side, with the Cubs’ arms — for the most part — doing their jobs.

But even on a day in which Cubs pitchers allowed only six runs in two games Friday, there was talk afterward about what didn’t go right: the nine walks they issued.

‘‘We pitched well, but we walked too many people again,’’ manager Craig Counsell said. ‘‘A night like tonight, when the hitting was very difficult, giving free passes ends up hurting you.’’

Such things could make all the difference in how long the Cubs stay in the postseason. Playoff games are often close and low-scoring that there’s little room for error.

‘‘You can’t control the future. You can’t control the past. It’s what you’re doing right now to get better and put yourself in the best spot,’’ right-hander Clay Holmes said. ‘‘It’s the same way in the playoffs.

‘‘Obviously, it’s exciting. There’s a level of tension and focus that every pitch comes with. But you really just have to make things simple and stay within yourself, just like any other outing.’’

So the Cubs need to find themselves — if not Sunday, then by the time a best-of-three wild-card series starts Tuesday.

If they can’t get back to being what they’ve been for much of the season — the best
offensive and defensive team in the majors and a club that features multiple reliable arms, particularly in the starting rotation — their October might not last very long.