Back to back to back walk-off losses to the Chicago Cubs

It’s a headline that’s grammatically difficult to write. It’s a concept that’s rationally hard to stomach. The Cincinnati Reds have lost back, to back, to back games to the Chicago Cubs to begin this four-game series, and they’ve been walked-off in all three of them.

The last two of them have even come in extra-innings. Wednesday’s will be the one that ends up the most difficult to stomach, at least for now. That’s assuming the depths to which this 6-game losing streak overall continues.

After trailing early and often, the Reds got a standout performance from reliever Tejay Antone when they needed it most, the former fireballer back in the big leagues over two years after the most recent of his three Tommy John surgeries. To say his inning had an ‘uplifting’ effect would be putting it mildly. There was pep in the step of the defense behind him, and it carried right over to their bats in the Top of the 9th inning.

Spencer Steer socked a homer to lead the charge, JJ Bleday chipped in with a vital RBI single to tie the game, and Elly De La Cruz plated a pair with a sacrifice fly so deep into RF that it caused Seiya Suzuki to fall at the wall. The Reds had roared back to claim a 6-4 lead, and they turned things over to their closer to close it out. Except, of course, closer Emilio Pagan had hurt his hamstring the previous night and been put on the shelf for at least a month, and instead Graham Ashcraft was summoned to do a job he’s got almost no experience doing before.