CHICAGO — When Cincinnati Reds manager David Bell made the slow walk to the mound to pull rookie starter Brandon Williamson in the fifth inning Wednesday night, it might have marked the tipping point this season for one of the most overworked bullpens in the major leagues.
What came next was certainly a reminder of why the Reds tried to trade for pitching before Tuesday’s trade deadline – if not the cost of failing to add more than a depth reliever.
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It took all of two batters for the Cubs to tie it against Buck Farmer – Christopher Morel greeting him with an RBI double, followed by Cody Bellinger's slow roller to second that drove home another run.