Monday’s loss to the Reds was just such a buzzkill, wasn’t it?
Coming off of a three-game stomping of the Pirates, the Cubs’ momentum seemed to grind to a screeching halt as Steve Cishek and the rest of the bullpen blew a late lead to the increasingly aggravating Reds in the series opener. It started to feel like the Reds were just fulfilling their destiny as “that team” for the 2019 Cubs, the one they would inexplicably and inevitably struggle with.
The start of Tuesday’s game wasn’t exactly overflowing with inspiration, either. The renowned framing skills of the newest Cub, catcher Martin Maldonado, couldn’t prevent the Reds from scoring three 1st-inning runs and threatening to take the first two games without much of a fight.