After long HR and rally-sparking two-out walk, Cubs bullpen implodes again in 6-5 loss to Reds
Kyle Schwarber as a leadoff hitter looks like a typically polarizing Joe Maddon whim. There’s little about Schwarber that overtly suggests he’s right for the part. He’s built like a linebacker. He doesn’t hit for average. He’s not fast. His greatest strength is his tremendous power.
But Maddon likes him there and that’s where he’s been for the last nine games. And somehow, it’s working.
Schwarber ignited the Cubs offense with the kind of versatility not many classic leadoff batters have against the Cincinnati Reds on Friday before 35,266 at Wrigley. Field. Schwarber homered to the back rows of the right-field bleachers — a Sheffield Avenue shot in the old days — to lead off the first inning. And he walked with two outs in the bottom of third inning to spark a three-run outburst when Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo followed with back-to-back home runs to give the Cubs a four-run lead.
It went for naught in a 6-5 loss when the Cubs bullpen imploded again. Brad Brach allowed three consecutive two-out hits — capped by Jesse Winker’s RBI double — as the Reds tied the game 4-4 in the seventh inning. After Willson Contreras gave the Cubs a 5-4 lead with an RBI single that scored Anthony Rizzo in the bottom of the eight, Steve Cishek walked Joey Votto and gave up a two-run, no-doubt-about-it home run to Eugenio Suarez that gave the Reds a 6-5 lead in the ninth inning. The Cubs went out 1-2-3 in the ninth against Raisel Iglesias.
Kyle Hendricks started strong but faded and allowed three runs on six hits in six innings. Hendricks retired the first 11 batters, but allowed Yasiel Puig’s RBI single in the fifth and Puig’s two-run homer in the sixth to cut the lead to 4-3.
In nine games as the leadoff man, Schwarber is hitting .265 (9-for-34) with three home runs and seven RBIs for a .372 on-base percentage and .990 OPS. Since going 0-for-4 in his first game at the top spot, Schwarber is hitting .321 with a .421 on-base percentage and 1.057 OPS. Schwarber has more RBIs in 33 at-bats in the leadoff spot (seven) than he has in 54 at-bats in the No. 5 spot (six).
It’s a small sample, but still encouraging. When Maddon first tried Schwarber at the leadoff spot in 2017, Schwarber hit .190 with a .693 OPS in 147 at-bats.
“I liked it back then. However he did not react to it at the moment,” Maddon said. “But if you look at his overall abilities … for me that’s a perfect spot for him, especially in our lineup.
“He’s made some adjustments recently. He’s more mature as a hitter. He’s understanding it better. I like it. I could have done it earlier this year, but he really wasn’t doing what he’s doing right now earlier in the year. I think the last three weeks, he’s really morphed into the hitter we thought he can be. The timing was right to give it a go.”
After Schwarber’s home run and walk in his first two at-bats, Reds manager David Bell turned to left-handed relievers to combat Schwarber. With the bases loaded in the fourth inning after starter Anthony DeSclafani walked Hendricks with two outs, Schwarber worked a 3-2 count against lefty reliever Wandy Peralta before grounding out to third.
Bell brought in lefty Amir Garrett to face Schwarber with one out and nobody on in the seventh and Schwarber struck out looking. Solving left-handed pitching — another area of improvement for this year — will be the next mountain for Schwarber to conquer.
