The Cubs trailed 6-2 in the seventh inning Saturday and, well… you had to have the fleeting thought, at least, that they’d pull another miracle late-inning comeback, as they did from the same score Friday.
Unfortunately, that didn’t happen, and the Reds evened up the series by defeating the Cubs 6-4.
The Reds took a 2-0 lead in the first inning off Colin Rea, who issued a one-out walk and then got touched up by Elly De La Cruz’s ninth home run of the year.
That’s the way the game stayed until the top of the third, when Justin Turner — yes, Justin Turner! — hit his first home run as a Cub [VIDEO].
Per the Marquee broadcast, Turner became the first Cub to homer at age 40 or older since Gary Gaetti hit the last home run of his career Aug. 25, 1999 against the Giants.
In the bottom of the third, Matt Shaw made a nearly impossible defensive play [VIDEO].
That was a fantastic play. Not only did he make the throw while falling down, it was a strong, accurate throw. Excellent defense by Shaw.
The Reds extended their lead to 3-1 in the bottom of the fourth on a leadoff double by Gavin Lux, a wild pitch by Rea and a sacrifice fly.
In the fifth, TJ Friedl led off with a single and went all the way to third when Rea’s attempted pickoff throw went into right field. An attempted sacrifice by Santiago Espinal wound up as a hit when Rea and Turner didn’t field the play properly, and another wild pitch put runners on second and third. Both runners scored on a single by De La Cruz, who stole second and that, unfortunately, is where Miguel Amaya left the game with an injury [VIDEO].
At the time it was speculated on the broadcast that this might have been an oblique injury, and indeed, that’s exactly what did happen:
Per #Cubs, Miguel Amaya left tonight’s game with a left oblique strain.
— Taylor McGregor (@Taylor_McGregor) May 24, 2025
Nothing official has been announced yet, but I’d think that sort of injury would require an IL stint.
Let me say this right here and now: There is absolutely no way Moises Ballesteros is going to come up to replace Amaya. Ballesteros isn’t ready to catch in the big leagues, period. What is more likely to happen — especially since the Cubs have an open 40-man roster spot — is that Reese McGuire will be added. McGuire is a perfectly cromulent backup MLB catcher, he’s been hitting well at Triple-A Iowa, and this just means Carson Kelly will have to take on more of the workload for a while. Instead of splitting time with Amaya, Kelly will catch most games and McGuire would catch once or twice a week. Ballesteros isn’t ready for that sort of MLB workload.
Also FWIW, the I-Cubs are in Columbus this week, so McGuire (assuming it’s him) could easily get to Cincinnati in plenty of time for Sunday afternoon’s game.
Anyway, two outs after the injury to Amaya, a single scored De La Cruz to make it 6-1.
Rea wound up gutting out five innings and 108 pitches, which is a season high for any Cubs pitcher and only six fewer than the MLB high for this year, set by Hunter Greene earlier this month. As for Rea, from BCB’s JohnW53:
Colin Rea’s 108 pitches were two below his career high of 110, set more than nine years ago, on May 11, 2016, when he was in the Padres. he lasted five innings in that game, allowing four runs on seven hits and four walks, with three strikeouts. The opponent: the Cubs, at Wrigley Field. The Cubs lost, 7-4.
Here’s more on Rea’s outing [VIDEO].
The Cubs did get a run back in the top of the seventh. Kelly led off with a single and one out later, took third on a double by Shaw.
Ian Happ’s ground out scored Kelly to make it 6-2 [VIDEO].
In the bottom of the inning, De La Cruz tried to steal again, but this time was thrown out by Kelly [VIDEO].
The Cubs scored one more in the top of the eighth. Seiya Suzuki led off with a double [VIDEO].
Seiya took third on a ground out. Pete Crow-Armstrong scored Suzuki with this sacrifice fly [VIDEO].
Credit where it’s due: The Cubs pen did a good job after Rea’s departure. Ryan Brasier, just activated from the IL Friday, made his first Cubs appearance since Tokyo and threw a scoreless sixth. And Brooks Kriske, just added to the roster Saturday, threw two scoreless innings in his Cubs debut.
Kelly led off the ninth with a home run to make it 6-4 [VIDEO].
Unfortunately, that was all the Cubs could do in the ninth, though Shaw did hit a double, bringing the tying run to the plate. More credit where it’s due: The Cubs did not quit even when down by five runs. That will serve them will as this season continues.
One last game note, from BCB’s JohnW53:
The Cubs lost despite making 11 hits to the Reds’ nine. The Cubs now are 25-3 when they have finished with more hits. The previous such losses were the second game of the season against the Dodgers in Tokyo and last Monday at Miami. The Cubs are 2-2 when each team has had the same number and 4-16 when they have finished with fewer hits.
The series finale will take place at GABP Sunday afternoon, with the Cubs still having a chance for a series win. Ben Brown will start for the Cubs and Nick Lodolo will go for the Reds. Game time is 12:40 p.m. CT and TV coverage will be via Marquee Sports Network (and MLB Network outside the Cubs and Reds market territories). Sunday’s BCB game preview will post at 10:30 a.m. CT.
Poll
If Miguel Amaya has to be placed on the injured list, who should be added to the Cubs active roster to replace him?
29%
Moises Ballesteros
(16 votes)
1%
Someone else (leave in comments)
(1 vote)
54 votes total