Chicago Cubs Bullpen Woes Continue in Loss to Reds

The Chicago Cubs bullpen struggled again and allowed the Cincinnati Reds to pull away with the victory.

When Chicago Cubs starter Javier Assad exited the game with one out in the sixth inning, the game was still well within reach. The righty had allowed just two runs but two singles in the sixth would force the Cubs to turn to reliever Erich Uelmen to try and keep the Cincinnati Reds lead at 2-1.

What followed was another bullpen meltdown that would effectively take Chicago out of the game. Uelmen would walk Jake Fraley on four pitches to load the bases before a Spencer Steer infield single combined with a Chris Morel error would score two more runs for Cincinnati. 

Each was charged to Assad who finished with six strikeouts, a walk, and four runs charged to him over 5.1 innings. Uelmen would then face one more batter, allowing a single to Donavan Solano to knock in another run and chasing Uelmen from the game without getting an out. 

Reds outfielder Aristides Aquino would greet new reliever Michael Rucker with an RBI single to give Cincinnati a 6-1 lead. Aquino continued to live up to his nickname of "The Punisher" as he continued to rake against the Cubs, going 3-for-4 with two home runs, one off of Assad in the third and another off Jeremiah Estrada in the ninth to make it 7-1, which would ultimately be the final score.

While Chicago did have 12 hits, including a 4-for-4 night from Yan Gomes, just one went for extra bases, and the team went 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position. 

With an offense unable to get a big hit, the pitching was unable to pick up the slack. The bullpen lost its top four arms at the trade deadline, so regression was to be expected as the Cubs try to find pieces for the puzzle going into 2023. Some promising arms have emerged such as Estrada or even Uelmen, but it'll take some time for them to fully develop into major-league-ready arms. 

Chicago will send righty Adrian Sampson to the mound against the Reds Luis Cessa in the series rubber match. The teams will face off at 1:20 p.m. Thursday at Wrigley Field. 

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