Kris Bryant was shaken up as a result of a collision in the outfield. (Credit: Jon Durr-USA TODAY Sports)
Bryant injured as Cubs lose rubber match versus Reds |
by Cole Little
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Senior Writer
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Sun May 26 18:04:24 GMT-05:00 2019
CHICAGO, Ill. — As if a blowout loss in a rubber match against the last-place Cincinnati Reds (24-28) was not bad enough, the Chicago Cubs (30-21) also lost star slugger Kris Bryant to an injury during the course of Sunday's defeat at Wrigley Field. Falling in the series finale by a final score of 10-2, the Cubs gave up a whopping 17 hits and resorted to using a position player as a pitcher in the ninth inning. That, combined with Bryant's injury and a woeful outing by starting pitcher Jose Quintana, made for a bad day at the ballpark for the Cubs.
Quintana was taken for six runs on 12 hits and one walk in his 5 1/3 innings of work. The 12 hits were the most given up by the left-hander during any outing in his career. The Reds collected four straight singles off Quintana to start the game and ultimately recorded two runs in the top of the first. An RBI double by pinch hitter Kyle Farmer that put the Reds up 4-0 in the sixth chased Quintana from the game. The Reds tacked on three more runs in the frame after that, including one that was scored as a result of an outfield collision involving Bryant.
With the Cubs trailing 6-0, Bryant, who is typically a third baseman but was playing in right field on Sunday, collided with center fielder Jason Heyward while both players were tracking a high fly ball. A run was plated on the play, which was scored as an error on Bryant, and Bryant proceeded to leave the game due to injury. Bryant took the brunt of the impact, as Heyward was not shaken up on the play, and exited the field while experiencing what appeared to be upper-body pain.
The Cubs' lone runs of the contest came on a pair of solo homers. Catcher Willson Contreras jacked his 12th dinger of the year to lead off the bottom of the sixth. Two innings later, shortstop Javier Baez drove a solo blast to the opposite field for his 13th long ball of 2019. Baez went 3-for-4 at the plate on the afternoon.
In the top of the ninth, with the Cubs facing a 6-run deficit, catcher Victor Caratini came in to pitch for Chicago. The Cubs' bullpen has been taxed quite heavily as of late and has also been dealing with injury issues and a slew of call-ups and demotions. Therefore, using Caratini, who has appeared in relief before, in that situation made sense. Unfortunately for the backstop, he was taken deep on a 2-run blast by fellow catcher Curt Casali. By way of the 10-2 win, the Reds took two of three from the Cubs at the Friendly Confines to win their second series versus the North Siders in a little over a week.
| Cincinnati Reds at Chicago Cubs |
| May 26, 2019 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
R |
H |
E |
| Cincinnati (24-28) |
2 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
10 |
17 |
1 |
| Chicago (30-21) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
8 |
2 |
| W: Tanner Roark (4-3) L: Jose Quintana (4-4) |
