Ninth-inning rally falls short in loss to Reds |
CINCINNATI - There are some losses in baseball that you can live with, and then some make you want to break your TV and scream. Monday was one of those losses for the Chicago Cubs (1-3) as they dropped their series opener to the Cincinnati Reds (3-1) at the Great American Ballpark.
Every now and then, you have a starting pitcher that seemingly owns a team, and Drew Smyly has owned the Reds in his career. Coming into the game on Monday, Smyly had posted a 5-0 career mark with a 2.63 ERA. Given the Reds lineup, you had to like Smyly's chances of keeping that streak going. Instead, you had a pitcher coming off a terrible spring that concerned some fans as the season got underway. Those concerns came full circle as Smyly was rocked in his 4 2/3, allowing seven runs (six earned) as the Reds came from behind twice to top the Cubs 7-6. Chicago had a chance to rally in the ninth, but came up empty and has dropped three-straight since winning the opener. To make matters worse, Patrick Wisdom is expected to get some X-rays on Tuesday while you could argue that this was the worst game that David Ross has managed as a Cub. That makes three games now where he has made some questionable decisions, and ironically enough, those three games have all resulted in losses. Despite the early season struggles, one thing the Cubs have done well is score first, which was a common theme last season. Connor Overton opposed Smyly and learned firsthand how good the Cubs can be in the first inning of a game. Overton immediately found himself in trouble as Nico Hoerner and Dansby Swanson started the game with singles as the Cubs had runners on the corners and no outs. Looking for a double play following an Ian Happ strikeout to get out of the inning, Overton hung a breaking ball to Cody Bellinger, who took care of the rest and mashed his first homer of the season to give the Cubs a 3-0 lead. That was also Bellinger's first hit of the year and he will look to build off of that. Given Smyly's success against Cincinnati, you had to think a three-run lead would be more than enough to get him a win. Instead, Smyly had just as much trouble as Overton, walking Johnathan India to start the game before singles by Spencer Steer and Wil Myers put the Reds on the board. Tyler Stephenson followed that up with another single, as did Kevin Newman, and it was a 3-3 game. It took Smyly seven hitters to pick up his first out, but kept things tied. The Cubs continued to keep the pressure on in the second, with Tucker Barnhardt picking up his first hit of the season with a Happ walk, but the Cubs could not get the hit they needed. On the other hand, the Reds did get the job done as Jose Barrero started things off with a single before the perfectly placed TJ Friedl bunt forced Smyly into a costly error that allowed a runner to score later in the inning to put the Reds in front 4-3. Cincinnati then had a golden opportunity to put a hurt on the Cubs as they loaded the bases with two outs in the fourth, but couldn't come away with a run. After struggling in the early going, Overton started to settle in and retired seven straight hitters at one point. That quickly unraveled in the fifth, with Swanson picking up another single to start things off while the Happ double put two runners on and signaled the end of the road for Overton. Trey Mancini managed to tie the game up with an RBI groundout, but after a pitch hit Patrick Wisdom to keep the inning going, the Cubs had a chance for more. Eric Hosmer ensured he would be the one providing the more as his sharply hit line drive resulted in a two-run double as the Cubs retook the lead 6-4. Like in the first inning, the Cubs lead didn't last long as the Reds came roaring back in the bottom of the fifth. Hoping to get through five to put himself in a position to win, Smyly didn't make it easy on himself as Stephenson led the inning off with a single while a hit-by-pitch put two men on. Still, Smyly was one out away from getting out of the inning with left-handed hitting Jason Volser stepping in. Given how much Smyly struggled in the game, it was a surprise to see Ross leave him in, but with a lefty coming to bat, he stuck with his man. That move proved to backfire in a big way as Volser took the Smyly heater the opposite and put it over the fence for the three-run shot giving the Reds the 7-6 lead. That was not only the final batter Smyly would face, but it was the first homer allowed by Cubs pitching this season. Keegan Thompson not only finished the inning for the Cubs, but he went on to toss the final 3 1/3 innings and was lights out in the process, yielding one hit and striking out three. Maybe Ross should have gone to him against Volser, but that decision is something we may never understand. With Thompson holding down the fort for the Cubs, it would come down to whose bullpen was better, and the Reds continued to match the Cubs pitch for pitch early on. Not only did the Cubs waste an opportunity in the eighth to draw even, but they wasted another opportunity in the ninth as they had Derek Law on the ropes. Down to their final out, Bellinger and Hosmer kept the inning alive as they connected for singles to set the Cubs offense up. Needing a base hit to tie the game and perhaps a double to win it, Miles Mastrobuoni put forth a great at-bat and hit one right on the nose toward first base. What looked to be extra bases off the bat resulted in heartbreak as Volser made the play to end the game and killed the Cubs chances at a comeback. There were plenty of positives from this loss as Thompson looked great out of the pen, while the Cubs picked up 12 hits. Three came from Hosmer, with Swanson grabbing three more to continue his scoring start. Despite being 1-3, you could argue this team should be 4-0 or even 3-1, as two bad innings against Milwaukee and one wrong decision against the Reds cost them three games. These teams will meet again on Tuesday, with Hayden Wesneski making his first start of the season against Luis Cessa.
