CINCINNATI _ Frustration engulfed the Cubs in an 8-6 loss Sunday to the Reds at humid Great American Ball Park.
A dropped fly by left fielder Kyle Schwarber set up a three-run home run by Eugenio Suarez in the first inning off left-hander Jon Lester, who proceeded to retire the next 14 batters.
A promising rally for the Cubs ended in the third when a fan reached up in a failed attempt to catch a foul fly by Anthony Rizzo with runners at second and third with Reds left fielder Phillip Ervin charging. A replay review called Rizzo out for spectator interference, and Rizzo had to be restrained by two teammates.
After Schwarber hit a three-run home run to cut the Cubs' deficit to one in the seventh, the Cubs advanced the tying run to third before Willson Contreras hit a grounder to third that he thought initially hit his foot.
But the umpires ruled that the ball never hit Contreras' foot, resulting in an inning-ending groundout.
Ervin, meanwhile, hit a pair of soft two-out RBI singles to right, including a hit during a four-run eighth.
Jason Heyward, who robbed Nick Senzel of a home run in the seventh, ripped a three-run home run on an 0-2 count with two out in the ninth.
With the loss, the Cubs (14-15) suffered their first sub-.500 month since posting a 12-16 mark in May of 2017, and they lost their fifth consecutive road series.
