The Chicago Cubs have turned Wrigley Field into a house of horrors for the Cincinnati Reds, walking off for the third straight night and extending the Reds' losing streak to six games. If this is a preview of what's to come in the National League Central, the Reds might want to start eyeing the wild-card race sooner rather than later.
It was a heartbreaking 7-6 loss in 10 innings on Wednesday, a game that seemed all but won after the Reds erupted for four runs in the top of the ninth to take a two-run lead. But baseball is a game of momentum, and the Cubs snatched it right back. With closer Emilio Pagán sidelined on the injured list with a hamstring issue, the Reds turned to Graham Ashcraft to seal the deal. Instead, Carson Kelly singled, and Pete Crow-Armstrong launched a two-run homer the opposite way, tying the game and sending it to extras. In the 10th, Reds lefty Brock Burke walked Michael Busch with the bases loaded to force in the winning run, capping another gut-wrenching chapter for Cincinnati.
The Reds spent most of April atop the division, boasting a solid 19-9 record against non-division opponents. But the script flips when they face their NL Central rivals. They've now lost all three division series this season, including six straight on this two-city, seven-game road trip. Since beating the Pirates on March 30, the Reds have dropped eight consecutive games to Pittsburgh and Chicago, with four of those coming by a single run. The pain is especially sharp at Wrigley, where they've watched the Cubs celebrate walk-off wins three nights in a row.
This skid has dropped Cincinnati four games behind the first-place Cubs, and the schedule doesn't get any easier with the Cardinals and Brewers still on the horizon. For a team that started the season with so much promise, the early May reality is a tough pill to swallow. The bats finally showed life in the ninth, but the pitching couldn't hold the line—a recurring theme that's turning this division race into an uphill climb.
For fans and players alike, the message is clear: the margin for error in the NL Central is razor-thin. And right now, the Reds are feeling every bit of that pressure.