The Chicago Cubs didn’t put up much of a fight on Monday night at the fog filled friendly confines. It wasn’t exactly the ideal playing conditions for most players I would say. It was foggy right from the start and only got worse as the game went on, but that didn’t stop the game from taking place. The Reds easily won the game 6-2 over the Cubs.
Brandon Phillips was definitely the MVP of the game for the Reds. Phillips got the party started in the top of the first inning when he drove in Zack Cozart to get the Reds on the board. Then came the big blow in the third. With the bases loaded, Cub starting pitcher Scott Feldman, hung a curveball that Phillips unloaded on into the left field bleachers for a grand slam. Phillips finished with two hits in his four trips and had six RBI’s for the Reds.
Homer Bailey was really overshadowed by Phillips’ big day. Bailey had an excellent start, he went eight innings, gave up four hits and no earned runs. Bailey earned his fourth win of the year.
Xavier Paul and Cozart both had two hits as well and Cozart scored three of the six Red runs in the game.
For the Cubs, Scott Feldman didn’t have his best start, but was somewhat effective. If it wasn’t for the one mistake made to Phillips in the third, Feldman probably has a quality start under his belt. However, Feldman got through six innings, gave up seven hits, and allowed five earned runs.
Nate Schierholtz was the only Cub to have a multi-hit game. He tallied two hits and continued his solid season, Schierholtz is batting .293 on the year for the Cubs. Starlin Castro finally busted out of his slump, however he only marked one hit in the box score, which was a double in the ninth that drove in Alfonso Soriano.
The Cubs as a team once again struggled with runners in scoring position, they went a combined 2-11 which just isn’t going to cut the cheese on most nights, especially for a team that already struggles in the first place.
The Cubs are currently sitting at the bottom of the NL Central with a 25-36 record.
These two teams will be back in action tomorrow night at Wrigley Field and hopefully they will see better weather. Game time is scheduled for 6:05 CT. The probable starters are, Tony Cingrani (2-0) for the Reds, and Matt Garza (1-0) for the Cubs.