NL Central struggles continue for Cubs against Reds |
CINCINNATI - With the trade deadline officially over, and a rather quiet one, to say the least, for the Chicago Cubs (51-58), they can now focus on the rest of this season as they look to at the very least gain some momentum. The problem that now comes into play is that this team has more questions than answers and given what they did at the deadline they may have even more questions than before.
One of the questions they must address heading into 2025 is how to beat the NL Central. Their poor play within their own division is a big reason why they are in last place and losing ground by the day. That includes a 2-7 record against the Cincinnati Reds (52-55), whom they took on at the Great American Ballpark on Tuesday night. In what has become a concerning trend for the Cubs Ace Justin Steele, he endured another rough outing as the Reds jumped on him early and often to deliver a 6-3 win. Cincinnati is the one team that Steele simply can't beat, and his struggles have been at an all-time high this season as he allowed five runs in five innings. The Reds are a tough matchup for Justin Steele. pic.twitter.com/m0M02f8iFD That was more than enough offense for the Reds, who elected to go with a bullpen day after scheduled starter Frankie Montas was traded to the Brewers on Monday. Nick Martinez picked up the win with his four shutout innings. When you look at the Cubs' body of work this season, their magic number is four, as they are better than 20 games above .500 when they score four or more runs. Two of their wins have come since the All-Star break, and they are 2-0 in those games. The best way to prevent the Cubs from reaching that mark is to jump on them early, which is something the Reds immediately did in the first two innings. A pair of walks sandwiched around a single loaded the bases for the Reds in the first and only one out in the inning. TJ Friedl came through shortly after, continuing his mastery of the Cubs with a two-run single to put the Reds in front 2-0. They would never trail in this one, as the Cincinnati offense continued to make Steele pay for his mistakes in the second. For as good as the starting pitching has been this season, you had to think at some point their pitching would regress, and maybe the Cubs are starting to see that right now. Following another walk to begin the Reds' half of the second, Santiago Espinal played long ball, and his two-run shot doubled the Reds' lead to 4-0. Jonathan India added a double shortly after before coming around to score on a Tyler Stephenson single that saw the Reds open up a massive 5-0 lead after two. Those were the only runs Steele would allow in the game, but with the offense continuing to struggle, the damage was done, as the Cubs had tons of work to do. It took four innings for their offense to start showing signs of life, with Seiya Suzuki and Nico Hoerner picking up a pair of singles only to be left stranded on the bases. Two innings later, the Cubs finally cashed in, as Suzuki was right in the middle of it again with a leadoff double before coming into score on a Cody Bellinger big fly to make things 5-2. Cody Bellinger homers in his first game back! pic.twitter.com/oqalmyL2Je For Bellinger, this was his first game back since breaking his finger and his first homer in nearly two months, as the power aspect of his game has been non-existent this season. With the offense finally cashing in, it was up to the Cubs pen to keep the Reds right where they were so that their offense could have a chance. To their credit, they did just that, as Jorge Lopez and Ethan Roberts combined to throw three innings of one-run ball, and they have continued to have the best bullpen ERA in baseball since June 20. Even with their success, nothing came easy as Lopez had to pitch around a mini-jam in the sixth only to have the Cubs offense put the pressure on again. Following a one-out walk by Ian Happ, David Bell went back to his pen and called on Fernando Cruz to relieve Justin Wilson. Things didn't start well for Cruz, who walked Suzuki to put a pair of runners on while the Bellinger single loaded the bases with two outs. Happ would eventually come in to score off a wild pitch to make things 5-3, only to have Isaac Paredes line out softly to end the threat. Those were the only runs the Cubs would score the rest of the way as Roberts had to work out of multiple jams in his two innings of work only to allow a Spencer Steer double in the eighth as the Reds stretched their lead to 6-3. Alexis Diaz took care of the rest from there, working around a leadoff walk to begin the ninth to lock down his 21st save of the season as the Reds win again 6-3. Suzuki and Bellinger provided a large chunk of the offense, combining for four of the team's seven hits and two RBIs. The Cubs will look to avoid the sweep on Wednesday when they send Kyle Hendricks to the mound against Nick Lodolo. The first pitch will be at 6:10 CDT. "There's still opportunity and that's how we have to see every day."
Craig Counsell on the Cubs after the trade deadline. pic.twitter.com/NhAgQ1989s
