The Cincinnati Reds' perfect record in extra-inning games came to a crashing halt Tuesday night at Wrigley Field, as they fell to the Chicago Cubs in a 10th-inning heartbreaker. But the loss was only part of the story—the bigger blow came when closer Emilio Pagán went down with a hamstring injury after just one pitch.
Pagán, who had shouldered blame for a blown save the night before, crumpled to the grass in the ninth inning clutching his left hamstring—the same one that sidelined him for a couple games in mid-April. He was carted off the field, joining four other key Reds pitchers on the injured list, turning what was already a rainy, ugly road trip into a painful one for a team that entered the weekend in first place.
Rookie Jose Franco was thrust into the fire, inheriting a 2-2 tie and a 1-0 count on Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner. He walked Hoerner on three more pitches, then issued another free pass to Reds-killer Ian Happ. But Franco showed poise under pressure, retiring $175 million man Alex Bregman, $85 million slugger Seiya Suzuki, and $177 million shortstop Dansby Swanson to escape the jam and push the game to extras.
In the 10th, Michael Busch lined a single up the middle that shortstop Elly De La Cruz couldn't handle, scoring the winning run. The loss was the Reds' third consecutive one-run defeat, though they still boast an impressive 12-3 record in games decided by two runs or fewer.
On the mound, Reds starter Andrew Abbott continued his resurgence. After struggling to a season-high 6.59 ERA through six starts, he's lowered that mark by nearly a point and a half in his last two outings. Tuesday, he retired the first six Cubs he faced and eight of the first nine, carrying a 2-0 lead into the sixth before a two-out walk, single, and another walk loaded the bases and ended his night. Connor Phillips kept the game scoreless by retiring Moises Ballesteros on a comebacker.
The Cubs chipped away in the seventh, as Pete Crow-Armstrong singled, stole second, and scored on Bregman's single. Busch tied it in the eighth with a solo homer to right off Tony Santillan. The Reds had taken an early lead on solo shots from JJ Bleday in the first and another in the third, but the offense couldn't muster more against a resilient Cubs bullpen.
For a team that's built its identity on resilience and tight-game execution, Tuesday night was a reminder that even the best bullpens have off nights—and that injuries can turn a promising road trip into a test of depth.