The Cincinnati Reds, who entered the week with longshot playoff odds, haven’t won a series in more than a month.
After a 75-minute rain delay at Wrigley Field, the Reds had a glimmer of hope at the start of Thursday’s game against the Chicago Cubs. They took an early three-run lead and they had a rested Sonny Gray on the mound.
Their house of cards quickly collapsed in an 8-5 loss, which included ugly plays from both teams in a game that lasted more than four hours. The Reds allowed two runs to score on an infield single and a potential eighth-inning rally was stunted when Shogo Akiyama over slid second base.