Chicago Cubs Score and Recap (9/7/21): Reds 4, Cubs 3 – Winning Streak Ends at Seven Following Narrow Loss

Despite a feeling that the Cubs would come back in the late innings once again, the magic of the post-deadline ball club came to an end as the Reds held on for dear life to earn a 4-3 victory at Wrigley Field.

Cubs’ starter Adrian Sampson spotted the Reds a 2-0 lead after three hitters, allowing solo shots to both presumptive NL Rookie of the Year Jonathan India and former Cub favorite Nicholas Castellanos. The Cubs got one back in the bottom of the 3rd when Willson Contreras hit his first bomb since coming back from the IL.

In the 8th, things started to get interesting off of Cubs reliever Manny Rodriguez as the Reds put two up on RBI singles from Mike Moustakas and Kyle Farmer. With Miley out of the game, the Cubs answered with two of their own in the bottom of the 8th on two big flies. Rafael Ortega hit a pinch-hit oppo taco to pull the Cubs within two, and then Ian Happ continued his blistering resurgence with a bomb to center off a high fastball to pull the Cubs to within one.

Unfortunately, Mr. Clutch, Frank “the Tank” Schwindel, didn’t get an at-bat before the final out and the Cubs couldn’t muster more than an Alfonso Rivas single in the 9th. (Box Score)

Why the Cubs Lost

Despite answering the Reds two runs in the 8th, the Cubs couldn’t add any more against the Reds’ bullpen.

Key Moment

The Moustakas single, after intentionally walking Joey Votto, was a backbreaker. That led to the Farmer game-winning single.

Stats That Matter

• Happ was 3-for-4 including his home run and is sporting an OPS of .984 his past 30 games.
• Cubs’ hitters struck out 10 times and did not walk against the Reds.
• Still mired in a 2-for-26 slump, it was nice to see Patrick Wisdom rip one off the ivy for a double.
• Despite the rough first inning, Sampson has been pretty good so far for the Cubs with a 2.25 ERA in 16 1/3 IP.

Bottom Line

It wasn’t going to last forever, and it certainly wasn’t going to lead to the Wild Card, but the seven-game winning streak did manage to inject a little fun into an otherwise miserable stretch for the Cubs. And if you’re counting, the Cubs are back to picking 10th in the 2022 draft thanks to their little hot streak.

On Deck

The last of this three-game set with the Reds at Wrigley will be tomorrow night and feature Vladimir Gutierrez for the Reds against Alec Mills for the Cubs. Game time is 6:40pm CT and can be seen on Marquee Sports Network and heard on 670 The Score.