Eighth straight loss dumps Cubs into 3rd in NL Central
Reds move half-game ahead, with Brewers way out in front
CINCINNATI — Adbert Alzolay intended to trash his last outing in Los Angeles and move on.
No watching video or dissecting why he labored that day, one of the few times this season Alzolay looked completely out of sync on the mound. It’s a mature approach for the 26-year-old right-hander who is trying to establish himself as a reliable starter for the Cubs. He showed no signs of carrying over those struggles into his start Saturday against the Cincinnati Reds.
“I wasn’t worried about getting hitters into deep counts or walking guys because I know who I am as a pitcher right now,” Alzolay said Saturday. “So that was my whole mindset. I just came back today on gave the team seven innings.”
Those growing moments are important for an organization that soon could turn its eye to the future.
The Cubs had ample opportunities to end their losing streak, but as has happened too often this season their hitters couldn’t deliver enough timely hits with runners on base. Despite taking an early lead, the Cubs couldn’t hold on in a 3-2 loss Saturday to the Reds.
It was their eighth straight defeat, and they dropped into third place in the National League Central, a half-game behind the Reds and 8 ½ games back of the first-place Milwaukee Brewers.
The Cubs will try to avoid another series sweep against a division rival Sunday when they conclude their 10-game trip.
It’s a jarring and almost unfathomable drop after sitting tied for first place June 25 after completing a combined no-hitter against the Dodgers the night before to kick off a 10-game, 11-day, three-city trip.
“Very frustrating, but you’ve got to keep your head up, keep moving forward, can’t let this game get the best of you,” Kris Bryant said. “It’s pretty crazy what this game will dish out in terms of wins, losses, slumps, highs, lows.
“I think it’s important to realize like, hey, yeah, this sucks right now, but just keep our head up. I mean, as quick as it went south, it can go the other way again, so you’ve got to believe in that and keep going.”
The Cubs left nine on base and finished 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position. They took a 1-0 lead on a passed ball in the second that allowed Rafael Ortega to score from third and added another the next inning on Bryant’s 16th homer of the season.
Alzolay bounced back his tough outing against the Dodgers. He went seven innings, tying his season high, and cruised for most of the day.
Solo homers from Joey Votto and Tyler Naquin were the only damage off Alzolay until the seventh. He had to work around runners on second and third after a leadoff walk and double.
He couldn’t get through it unscathed — Eugenio Suarez drove in what became the winning run on a one-out single — but Alzolay was able to get through the seventh maintaining the one-run deficit.
But it was the start the Cubs needed from him. He was in control against a tough Reds lineup that featured two especially talented left-handed hitters in Jesse Winker, who was voted a National League All-Star Game starter, and Votto.
Alzolay limited the Reds to five hits over seven innings, walking one and striking out six.
“I thought Adbert threw great,” manager David Ross said. “Very efficient, was able to go deep into the game. Hadn’t had a lot of that.
“(It) was nice to have him continue to pitch throughout and had a nice double play to finish it.”
A key for Alzolay, both against the Reds and going forward, is his changeup usage and effectiveness. It’s a pitch he needs to use to complement his slider and sinker and prevent opposing hitters from potentially sitting on one of those pitches.
His changeup also can be a good weapon to help neutralize lefties. Naquin’s homer came off a changeup, but it wasn’t a terrible pitch; Alzolay intended it to be low and outside and threw it below the strike zone and inside to Naquin, who golfed it out of the ballpark.
“I think today was a really, really nice step forward to including my changeup more into my stuff,” Alzolay said. “It helped me a lot in the first three innings just going changeups, four-seamers, two-seamers and saving my slider for later.”
Alzolay mixed in 11 changeups among his 82 pitches, getting two swinging strikes and two called strikes.
He came into Saturday having thrown only 43 changeups in his previous 13 starts this season. Naquin’s homer off the pitch was only the second hit Alzolay allowed on his changeup this year.
“That’s been a plus pitch at times in his career,” Ross said. “I think it’s important as well, but I think fastball command helps all that, the slider and making them swing at some of those, getting the fastball in to the lefties. ...
“When he’s locked in, the more pitches you have, the more it keeps the hitters honest.”
The Cubs offense hasn’t been giving their pitchers much to work with. Aside from their run-scoring woes, on Saturday the Cubs became the third team in the live-ball era, dating to 1920, to go 20 or more straight games with eight hits or fewer in a single season; the 1968 New York Yankees are the only team with a longer streak (22 games).
“If you keep putting more pressure on you, you won’t get good results,” Alzolay said. “So I don’t even think about it. I just go out there and I’m trying to pitch my game.”