The game was scheduled to be televised by Fox on Baseball Night in America, but with the long delay it was not shown. And it ended at 1:21 a.m. Sunday.
Once they took the tarpaulin off the field and began play, it commenced raining again — sometimes harder than it rained during the delay.
It was decided in the eighth inning when Reds relief pitcher Lucas Sims gave up a two-run home run on a 97 mph fastball to Dansby Swanson, 2 for 25 when he took his stance in the batter’s box.
With the loss, the last-place Reds dropped to double digit games behind the division-leading Milwaukee Brewers, 10 games back.
The first three innings were a farce.
The Reds loaded the bases in the second inning on a single by Tyler Stephenson, a full-count walk to Jonathan India and a hit by pitch on T.J. Friedl.
With two outs, Luke Maile lifted a lazy fly ball. With raindrops falling on his head, right fielder Seiya Suzuki dropped it. And it was a carousel around the bases as all three runners scored.
Stuart Fairchild then singled home Maile and the Reds had a 4-0 lead against Chicago starter Justin Steele. The Cubs had lost all seven Steele starts this season.
The recipient of the 4-0 lead was Reds starter Hunter Greene, who was 3-0 with a 1.95 earned run average over his last six starts, all six games against teams that made the playoffs last season.
But the quagmire they called the pitching mound perplexed Greene. He walked three batters in the Cubs second. He also struck out two, so there were two outs when Suzuki came to bat withe bases loaded, retribution on his mind.
And he got it. He retrieved all four runs he gave the Reds in the top of the second by blasting a grand slam home run to tie it, 4-4.
Greene had troubles of a different kind in the third when he hit the first two batters. One scored on Nico Hoerner’s single.
The Reds tied it, 5-5, in the fourth when Steele walked Fairchild on a full count to begin the inning. He took third on a fielder’s choice and an error on a ball hit by Elly De La Cruz and scored on Jeimer Candelario’s single.
But on Candelario’s single, De La Cruz tried to go from first to third and made it. But after his slide, he lifted his foot off the bag and replay/review revealed he was tagged out with his foot off the base.
The Reds filled the bases with two outs in the third and that threat ended when Santiago Espinal grounded out to the pitcher.
From there, the rain let up and matters settled down, with the help of about two tons of Diamond Dry spread over the infield between every inning.
Greene pitched six innings and gave up only three hits and struck out five, but five walks and two hit batters did him in. He did set a franchise record — the first Reds pitcher to strike out five or more in a pitcher’s first 12 starts of a season.
After scoring their fifth run in the fourth, the Reds had only three hits over the final five innings.
Jonathan India doubled with one out in the seventh, but Friedl lined to right and Espinal grounded out. Spencer Steer singled with one out in the ninth, but Tyler Stephenson flied to left and India struck out on a full count.
Fernando Cruz pitched a scoreless seventh and was replaced with Sims for the eighth. After striking out Reds nuisance Ian Happ, Sims walked Hoerner on four pitches and Swanson drove a 2-and-2 pitch over the ivy-covered brick wall in left for the game-winner.
De La Cruz’s offensive starvation continued. He was 0 for 5 with two strikeouts and is 5 for his last 55 with 24 strikeouts. When he struck out in the first inning, he was one of Steele’s early victims. Steele struck out the first four Reds he faced, but struck out only one more.
He pitched five innings and gave up five runs, only one earned, and seven hits. And he walked four off the slippery slope of a mound.
The Cubs began the game with eight losses in their last nine games and 13 losses in 17 games. The Reds had won five of seven.
The series concludes Sunday afternoon with the Cubs trying to win a series after losing their last five.
About the Author