{"id":791091,"date":"2026-08-29T01:09:21","date_gmt":"2026-08-29T01:09:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/791091\/"},"modified":"2026-08-29T01:09:21","modified_gmt":"2026-08-29T01:09:21","slug":"chicago-cubs-bullpen-hit-hard-in-10-8-loss-to-cincinnati-reds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/791091\/","title":{"rendered":"Chicago Cubs bullpen hit hard in 10-8 loss to Cincinnati Reds"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Chicago Cubs roster will be under the microscope for the next few days \u2014 and it wasn\u2019t just the reappearance of utilityman Matt Shaw on Friday morning.<\/p>\n

The bullpen will be followed closely in light of the potential returns of left-hander Hoby Milner and starter-turned-reliever Edward Cabrera. The Cubs will be able to add a pair of players, including one pitcher, when the calendar flips to September on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

But Friday\u2019s 10-8, series-opening loss to the Cincinnati Reds at Wrigley Field was a prime example of why the relief corps will be so vital over the final 27 games of the season. Manager Craig Counsell, pitching coach Tommy Hottovy and the rest of the Cubs brass will want to fine-tune the right mix of eight pitchers for October, and outings like Friday will be another data point for them to analyze when they assemble their group.<\/p>\n

Photos: Cincinnati Reds 10, Chicago Cubs 8<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

The Cubs bullpen surrendered eight runs \u2014 with all three relievers coughing up at least one and Trent Thornton\u2019s five-run sixth the difference in the loss. The right-hander hadn\u2019t allowed a run in August, had permitted just four since June 24 and had a 2.32 ERA entering Friday.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe made some bad pitches and then they hit them,\u201d Counsell said after the loss. \u201cTrent\u2019s been really, really good for a good stretch here, but he made some bad pitches today.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thornton\u2019s success highlights the precarious position the Cubs are at with their bullpen. The eight-man group features just three pitchers with minor-league options \u2014 right-hander Ryan Zeferjahn, who was acquired at the trade deadline, left-hander Ryan Rolison and right-hander Daniel Palencia, both of whom are key leverage arms for Counsell.<\/p>\n

That means the Cubs would have to part ways with one of the other five members of their pen rotation \u2014 Thornton, closer Jacob Webb, left-hander Caleb Thielbar or long relievers Aaron Civale and Colin Rea \u2014 if they want to add Milner back into the fold.<\/p>\n

Milner went on a minor-league rehab assignment July 29 after an appendectomy. A player can be on a rehab assignment for only 30 days, meaning the Cubs must decide before Saturday\u2019s game if they want to activate him from the IL or designate him for assignment. There was a report during the game that stated he had been DFA\u2019d, but Counsell denied that.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s not accurate,\u201d he said after the game. \u201cI can\u2019t comment any more than that, but that\u2019s not accurate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Regardless of Milner\u2019s status, the Cubs bullpen figures to have some churn over the last weeks of the season. Cabrera threw a live batting-practice session Friday at the team\u2019s complex in Arizona. If he recovers well, he could go on a rehab assignment after that before returning to the bullpen mix, as the Cubs hope using him in quicker bursts could allow him to avoid the blister issue that landed him on the IL for the second time this season.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to do some shorter stints with him, yes,\u201d Counsell said before the game.<\/p>\n

\"CubsCubs reliever Aaron Civale walks back to the mound after giving up a two-run single to Reds shortstop Elly de la Cruz in the seventh inning Aug. 28, 2026, at Wrigley Field. (Chris Sweda\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

But even without including Cabrera in the immediate mix, the Cubs are operating with two long relievers: Civale, who allowed a pair of unearned runs in 2 1\/3 innings Friday, and Rea, who hasn\u2019t pitched since Aug. 21 and has thrown just three innings since Aug. 9.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s healthy, (it\u2019s just been) game situation,\u201d Counsell said of Rea.<\/p>\n

The Cubs offense did receive a boost when Shaw was activated from the IL, with outfielder Kevin Alc\u00e1ntara optioned to make room for the utilityman. Shaw originally landed on the IL on June 29 with a sprained left hand and had setbacks that delayed his return until Friday.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was one of those things where I assumed it was going to be quicker. It ended up taking a really long time,\u201d Shaw said before the game. \u201cSo it tested my patience, for sure. I\u2019m glad to be back.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"CubsCubs pinch hitter Matt Shaw hits a double in the eighth inning against the Reds on Aug. 28, 2026, at Wrigley Field. (Chris Sweda\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

Shaw gives Counsell another option off the bench, able to deploy him across the infield or in the outfield and play matchups late in games.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe haven\u2019t run into a ton of situations where we need it,\u201d Counsell said before the game. \u201cYou don\u2019t know which game you\u2019re going to run into that situation \u2014 frankly, most games you don\u2019t for our roster \u2014 but there\u2019s going to be some days where we do run into it, and he\u2019s valuable when he\u2019s on the bench.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shaw pinch hit in the Cubs\u2019 four-run eighth inning that nearly completed an improbable rally. He doubled after Pedro Ram\u00edrez\u2019s three-run home run made it a 9-7 deficit. Shaw scored three batters later on Seiya Suzuki\u2019s double, but the Cubs right fielder was stranded on second as the tying run to end the frame.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou score eight runs and I think you\u2019re pleased,\u201d Counsell said. \u201cWe did a good job. We created some opportunities.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe gave up 10 today. That\u2019s going to be tough winning games giving up 10.\u201d<\/p>\n

Andy Martinez is a freelance reporter for the Chicago Tribune<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Chicago Cubs roster will be under the microscope for the next few days \u2014 and it wasn\u2019t…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":791092,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2399],"tags":[2132,5,7581,138,24,4245,50,158,576,161,888,4914,12525,442,716,4,45122,8052,10047,105,6961,7985],"class_list":["post-791091","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-chicago-cubs","tag-aaron-civale","tag-baseball","tag-caleb-thielbar","tag-chicago","tag-chicago-cubs","tag-chicagocubs","tag-cincinnati-reds","tag-colin-rea","tag-craig-counsell","tag-cubs","tag-daniel-palencia","tag-edward-cabrera","tag-hoby-milner","tag-jacob-webb","tag-matt-shaw","tag-mlb","tag-pedro-ramirez","tag-ryan-rolison","tag-ryan-zeferjahn","tag-seiya-suzuki","tag-tommy-hottovy","tag-trent-thornton"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/117176131138346594","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/791091","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=791091"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/791091\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/791092"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=791091"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=791091"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=791091"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}