With the wind blowing in at fickle Wrigley Field Saturday afternoon, offense was put in cold storage.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
The day’s theme song was Bob Seger’s “Against The Wind.”
All fly balls were chased toward the infield by the outfielders, who played shallow all afternoon.
So it figured Mother Nature would get the ‘W’ or the ‘L’ and that’s exactly what happened.
Nick Lodolo held the Cubs to no runs and five hits over six innings, then turned a 0-0 tie over to Scott Barlow for the seventh.
He committed baseball’s unpardonable sin by walking the first batter, but recovered by striking out the next three.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
It was Graham Ashcraft’s turn in the eighth and he, too, committed the unpardonable sin, but he didn’t get away with it.
He walked number nine hitter Matt Shaw on a full count. Ian Happ grounded to second and the Reds nearly turned their fourth double play of the game, but Happ beat the throw at first.
Kyle Turner singled, putting runners on second and first with one out.
Then Mother Nature intervened.
Seiya Suzuki lifted a fly ball down the right field line. The foul line is only six inches away from a brick wall down the right field line.
Right fielder Will Benson ambled toward it, battling the sun and the wind that was blowing the ball away from him toward the wall.
At the last moment, Benson ducked and turned his back and the ball plopped on the foul line for a run-scoring double.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Ashcraft walked Carson Kelly to fill the bases and Pete Crow-Armstrong popped out for the second out.
Dansby Swanson grounded routinely to shortstop Elly De La Cruz. But he lollygagged it, didn’t charge it, and Swanson beat his throw as the second run scored.
On Benson’s chase of Suzuki’s run-scoring double, Reds manager Tito Francona said, “It was a matter of six inches. He was battling the sun, the wind is taking it away from him and the wall is this far (six inches).
“The only chance he has to make that catch is if he can sprint over and get under it. But he couldn’t do that because he was trying to get the ball out of the sun. It was an impossible play.”
And on De La Cruz’s lackadaisical play, Francona said, “His clock has to be a little bit better, just knowing how that kid (Swanson) gets down the line.
“We tell our guys all the time if you do that (hustle on ground balls), you’re going to run somebody into a mistake.”
For the Reds? One hit. One walk. Two baserunners the entire game. Nobody discovered second base.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
The Cubs started an opener, left-hander Drew Pomeranz, and he pitched a 1-2-3 first inning.
The ball was turned over to 25-year-old right-hander Ben Brown. That should have brightened the Reds’ day.
For his career, Brown had made three starts against the Reds and was 0-2 with a 10.80 earned run average. He had given up 16 hits in 12⅓ innings.
He would have none of that on this day. He used two pitches, a knuckle curve and a fastball to completely mesmerize the Reds, striking out nine during his six innings.
On this day, the Reds were delighted when Chicago manager Craig Counsel lifted him after he pitched only five innings and was at 77 pitches.
He walked Gavin Lux with one out in the second, but took a no-hitter into the sixth when TJ Friedl poked a two-out single to center, the Reds’ only hit.
“That knuckle curve, whatever they call it, breaking ball... and he has plenty of velocity,” said Francona about Brown. “The breaking ball was really good.”
And about the wind blowing in, Francona said, “Elly hit two balls that are probably home runs (on a normal day) and that’s just the way the game is. We knew going in it was going to be difficult if you hit the ball in the air.”
De La Cruz hit a hard fly ball to center in the fourth and a hard fly ball to left in the seventh and both were knocked down by the wind into easy fly balls.
The Cubs tried their darndest to give it to the Reds, who were shut out for the ninth time this season.
They put their leadoff batter on base in the first, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth, but didn’t score until the eighth.
The weather conditions screamed for small ball, but the Cubs ignored sacrifice bunts with all those leadoff hitters getting on base.
The Reds, tied with Minnesota for the least double plays turned this year, turned three Saturday to bail out Lodolo.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Asked if he changed his approach due to the wind, he said, “No, you can’t change. You can’t just serve it up and hope they hit it into the wind. I’m still trying to get them to hit the ball on the ground.”
“I had trouble spinning the ball (curve balls) early when I tried to use it later in the count,” said Lodolo. “But I was still trying to mix and match. My change-up definitely was good today.”
But Browns knuckle curve was better and had the Reds knuckling under all afternoon.
NEXT GAME
Who: Cincinnati at Chicago Cubs
When: 2:20 p.m.
TV: FanDuel Sports
Radio: 1410-AM, 700-AM
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