CHICAGO – As the Cincinnati Reds try to salvage their season ahead of the trade deadline, these are the losses that hurt a little bit more.
So many missed opportunities with runners in scoring position. A bullpen continuing to struggle after the All-Star break. A lot of what-ifs.
Monday's series-opening loss to the Chicago Cubs ended with Javier Báez taunting Amir Garrett after his walk-off hit in the bottom of the ninth inning, handing the Reds a 6-5 loss at Wrigley Field in front of a crowd of 29,215.
Báez hit a deep fly ball to center field, stared at the mound and mocked Garrett's broom sweeping celebration from when the Reds swept the Cubs earlier this month. Báez pointed to the outfield as he had words for Garrett, then tossed his bat on the infield grass.
Garrett, who was suspended for five games earlier this year from a benches-clearing incident involving Báez, tossed the bat aside and spoke to an umpire as he walked off the field and Cubs players mobbed Báez.
"Just two highly, highly-competitive guys and both great baseball players," Reds manager David Bell said. "There’s a lot of emotions in this game, and to me, why add anything more to it? It might just be as simple as that. Just two guys that want to do well so bad, and there’s a lot of emotions involved."
"I’ve got no take on that," Joey Votto said. "I’m disappointed we lost such a close game, what felt like our game to win."
The Reds racked up opportunities, but they had nothing to show for it except another loss. With a one-run lead in the eighth inning, they loaded the bases with no outs against Cubs reliever Keegan Thompson through a single, catcher's interference and a walk.
It was a chance to give breathing room for a porous bullpen. And they failed to do anything with it after a shallow flyout to center field and two strikeouts.
Predictably, the Reds immediately paid the price for not adding to their lead. Lefty reliever Josh Osich surrendered a game-tying, solo homer to Willson Contreras in the bottom of the eighth inning. Catcher Tucker Barnhart called for a cutter off the inside part of the plate and Osich left it down the middle. A few Cubs fans in center field celebrated by throwing beer cans onto the warning track.
"It’s a tough assignment going up against those right-handers at the top of the order," said Reds manager David Bell, who had Heath Hembree lined up for the ninth inning, "but I made the decision that that was the best opportunity to get the eighth and the ninth right there with those two guys. And Josh, he’s earned that. He’s pitched really well since he’s been here, and he’s been effective against right-handers as well, which was another factor."
In the ninth inning, the Reds had two runners on base and no outs against Cubs closer Craig Kimbrel. Again, it turned into a zero on the scoreboard. Kimbrel struck out the next three hitters to end the inning.
The Reds went 1-for-13 with runners in scoring position and left 10 on base. Since dropping two of three games to the New York Mets last week, the Reds are batting .163 with runners in scoring position.
Are the Reds pressing at the plate?
"I do not sense that," Bell said. "I know guys want to come through and a little bit of added pressure in situations where we have to come through. Our guys, for the most part, are going to thrive in those situations."
The loss spoiled a magnificent relief appearance from rookie Tony Santillan. Nothing fazes him. Forget it was only the second time in his Major League career he’s pitched in a road ballpark and he’s still new to his role as a reliever.
Santillan was tasked with pitching out of a bases-loaded jam with one out in the fifth inning while protecting a two-run lead. Talk about thrown into the fire.
He induced an inning-ending double play against pinch-hitter Jason Heyward to escape the fifth inning. Then he overpowered the top of the Cubs lineup with fastballs and sliders in the sixth inning, striking out three of the four batters he faced in the frame.
Contreras, who led off the sixth inning, didn’t hide his frustration when Santillan pumped a 96-mph fastball past him. Contreras broke his bat by slamming it to the ground, then shattered his bat when he took out his frustration on the bat rack in the dugout.
"I think it’s just great for his growth," Bell said. "We’re absolutely going to need him, and he’s really going to help our bullpen moving forward."
Despite a matchup between two of the best starting pitchers in the National League Central, Wade Miley and Kyle Hendricks, it turned into a battle of the bullpens. Both starters lasted 4 1/3 innings as they struggled with command and walked a combined nine hitters.
"They didn't swing at any changeups," said Miley, who allowed seven hits and three runs. "They didn't help me out at all. In the past, they've chased some of those changeups on the plate down, the strike-to-ball changeups. They did a really good job of kind of taking that away from me, forcing me to one side of the plate. I did not command it well."
Despite Miley's struggles, the offense kept responding early. Votto crushed a solo homer in the second inning, his third homer in as many games. He added a sacrifice fly in the third and drew a bases-loaded walk in the fifth.
The Reds loaded the bases with no outs in the third inning, but Votto's sacrifice fly was their only run.
"What are we, seven games back, seven-and-a-half now?" Votto said. "That’s a number of games. We have to play really good ball going forward and need to accumulate a lot of wins. Of course, when you’re ahead in a game and you come up short, you look back and lots of what-if scenarios, for sure."
In the ninth inning, the Cubs loaded the bases with one out against Hembree through two walks and a hit batter. That set up Báez's walk-off on Garrett's first pitch.
"All nights where you’ve got lots of opportunities and you come up short in a one-run game, of course, they’re tough," Votto said. "It’s tough."
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