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Welcome to the new iteration of Bleed Cubbie Blue. We’re still getting up to speed here so I will ask for your patience while all our regular features return to action. Hopefully that will happen within a day or two.

In the meantime, I wish I had better news for you with my first article in the new format (and it’s probably just as well that I wasn’t able to post a recap of Monday’s loss to the Reds). Unfortunately, this one is going to be about a bullpen meltdown, specifically that of new Cubs reliever Andrew Kittredge, who had pitched well in his first two outings with the team.

This one? Yikes. Five baserunners in a row before he got an out, and one of those batters, Spencer Steer, hit a three-run homer that ruined the game, which turned into a 5-1 loss to the Reds.

It started out well enough, at least pitching-wise. Shōta Imanaga retired the first nine Reds in a row, and even after TJ Friedl laid down a perfect bunt hit to lead off the fourth, Shōta picked him off [VIDEO].

The Cubs, meanwhile, basically continued the same offensive impotence we’ve seen this entire homestand. Michael Busch singled to lead off the first and Ian Happ followed with a walk, but both were stranded. After that, 10 straight Cubs went down in order before Pete Crow-Armstrong doubled in the fourth. One out later, Nico Hoerner walked. Both were — you have probably guessed if you didn’t see it — stranded.

In the fifth, a double by Miguel Andujar and single by Steer gave the Reds a 1-0 lead.

With one out in the fifth, Matt Shaw tied the game with this blast [VIDEO].

That’s where the game stayed until the seventh. Imanaga got the first out of the seventh and then was removed for Kittredge. It was a completely defensible move by Craig Counsell. Imanaga had thrown 92 pitches (65 strikes) and the next two hitters were righthanded.

It didn’t work. Result: walk, single, home run, double, single, sacrifice fly, four runs, game basically over. It happens.

The Cubs went down meekly in the eighth and ninth, the only baserunner a two-out single by Happ in the eighth. He advanced to second on a passed ball, but that was that.

Imanaga had an excellent outing, 6.1 innings, three hits, just the solo homer, no walks and seven strikeouts. Here are the seven K’s [VIDEO].

Here’s more on Imanaga’s outing [VIDEO].

More on Imanaga from BCB’s JohnW53:

Imanaga’s start was the 24th by a Cub this season of at least six innings with no more than one run allowed. Matthew Boyd has seven; Imanaga, five; Jameson Taillon, four; Ben Brown, three; Cade Horton and Colin Rea, two; and Justin Steele, one.

It was the 10th of the 24 in which the pitcher did not walk a batter. Boyd has four; Brown, Imanaga and Taillon, two.

Sorry, that’s about all I’ve got from this one. Oh, except the Brewers won again. Sigh. The Cubs now trail in the NL Central by four games, though they have a comfortable 2½ game lead for the top wild-card spot.

Here are Craig Counsell’s postgame comments [VIDEO].

The Cubs will try to salvage the final game of this series Wednesday afternoon at Wrigley Field. Cade Horton will start for the Cubs and Andrew Abbott goes for the Reds. Great, yeah, another left-hander. At some point the Cubs will have to figure out how to defeat left-handed starters. Today would be a good day to do that. Game time is 1:20 p.m. CT and TV coverage will be via Marquee Sports Network.