Twice the Chicago Cubs lineup gave Drew Smyly a multirun lead.
Twice the veteran left-hander squandered it within the backside half of the inning.
Monday’s rocky begin in opposition to the Cincinnati Reds actually wasn’t the season debut Smyly envisioned, particularly when a pair of three-run innings by the offense within the first and fifth had been wasted.
Those blown leads proved to be the distinction within the Cubs’ 7-6 loss.
“It was a frustrating outing,” Smyly mentioned. “It’s not the one you want to start the year. … I mean, our offense scored a lot of runs, plenty to win a game. I let us down tonight.”
Here are three takeaways from the loss.
1. A comeback try within the seventh inning fell aside.
Patrick Wisdom had an inkling from the on-deck circle — earlier than catcher interference throughout Trey Mancini’s at-bat put runners on first and second with no one out — that he can be known as on to ship a sacrifice bunt within the seventh with the Cubs trailing by one.
Wisdom isn’t an apparent selection to try a sacrifice bunt. The slugger had efficiently put down two in his big-league profession getting into Monday and solely three between 2015 and 2020 as he progressed to the higher ranges of the minors.
His suspicion was confirmed when he acquired phrase from the dugout as he stepped towards house plate. Wisdom obtained forward of Reds reliever Fernando Cruz 3-0, took the subsequent pitch for a known as strike, then bunted a popout to Cruz on an inside four-seam fastball.
The Cubs had Nick Madrigal out there on the bench, and his contact profile may need been worthwhile in that second, however supervisor David Ross opted to maintain Wisdom within the spot with the sacrifice bunt name.
“In my mind, there’s a lot of good there if we get that bunt down,” Ross mentioned.
Wisdom was coping with a sore left wrist after getting drilled within the fifth. Although his wrist felt tender on swings, Wisdom mentioned postgame X-rays got here again clear. Asked why he didn’t pinch hit for Wisdom due to his wrist, Ross replied, “There’s a lot of factors within that.”
“He kept telling me it was good,” Ross added. “He’s one of our better bunters, to be honest with you, and got in a 3-1 count.”
Ross debated whether or not to let Wisdom swing as soon as he reached the 3-1 depend.
“I didn’t, and a bad result, but he’s a really good bunter, really good player,” Ross mentioned. “I thought the matchup favored us getting that guy over to second and third and it just didn’t work out.”
The Cubs nonetheless had a first-rate alternative to erase the deficit. Ross went to the bench for back-to-back pinch hitters after Eric Hosmer struck out in opposition to lefty reliever Reiver Sanmartin for the second out.
Ross known as on each reserve catchers, first changing designated hitter Edwin Ríos with Luis Torrens, who walked on 4 pitches. Yan Gomes subbed in for Tucker Barnhart and went down swinging on three pitches to finish the seventh.
“He gets that first strike and Gomes gets into swing mode a little bit,” Ross mentioned. “(Sanmartin) made some pitches, but everybody fought that entire inning, the entire game. Really good at-bats. They made pitches when they had to and we couldn’t get that zero after some big innings.”
It was solely the fourth sport, however Ross’ strikes in a leverage offensive spot present perception on how he desires to make the most of a four-man bench that options two catchers. There haven’t been many alternatives the earlier three seasons to judge Ross’ in-game selections due to both a rebuilding roster or video games that lack postseason that means inside a month or two.
The expectations are shifting round what this roster can turn out to be after the offseason additions, making Ross’ strikes within the seventh an attention-grabbing sequence. Based on the lefty Sanmartin’s splits, he valued matching up with right-handed hitters. Madrigal once more may have been in play, this time for Ríos; as a substitute he pinch ran for Hosmer with two outs within the ninth because the potential go-ahead run.
2. Drew Smyly’s tough begin wasted the offense’s efficiency.
The Reds’ well-placed contact value Smyly within the first.
He needed to be aggressive and refill the zone with a three-run lead. Walking the primary batter set the tone of the inning. The Reds’ strategy produced balls in play that discovered their method by means of the Cubs protection.
The Reds weren’t crushing the ball off Smyly within the first — three of their 4 hits had an exit velocity beneath 85 mph — however they landed cleanly to shortly erase the Cubs’ 3-0 lead. Cincinnati’s first 5 batters reached.
“It’s definitely frustrating because I feel like I’m executing my pitches,” Smyly mentioned. “I could’ve mixed and matched much better. I kind of got away from my game plan. But at the same time, they didn’t really hit a fastball hard until the the last batter.”
Jason Vosler’s two-out, three-run homer within the fifth knocked Smyly out of the sport. Smyly was rightfully aggravated he allowed a left-handed hitter to take him deep in that spot. The Cubs want a veteran to ship extra consistency when the offense is placing up runs.
Smyly obtained in a groove halfway by means of the second, retiring the subsequent seven batters. He bumped into hassle within the fourth, loading the bases with two outs on a triple, hit batter and stroll, however he compelled Wil Myers to foul out to finish the inning.
He practically finessed his method by means of one other tough inning within the fifth till Vosler delivered the blow.
3. Cubs newcomers lastly put one within the hit column.
Dansby Swanson’s electrical begin to his Cubs profession continued. He recorded his third three-hit sport by means of 4 video games, changing into the primary Cub since a minimum of 1901 to perform the feat.
Three different newcomers ended their temporary 0-fers to open the season. Cody Bellinger’s first hit, a three-run homer to proper, put the Cubs forward within the first. Hosmer had three hits and drove in two runs, whereas Barnhart, in his first sport again at Great American Ball Park since departing the Reds after the 2021 season, singled in his first at-bat.
“That’s a sense of relief,” Hosmer mentioned. “It feels good to get that first one out of the way and add on to it. It just feels good to contribute to the offense. Wish we could have won that one. Like the fight we had at the end there.”
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Source: www.bostonherald.com