CINCINNATI -- This was not how Andrew Abbott, or the Reds, wanted to head into the All-Star break.
Although Abbott was not pitching at his best on Sunday vs. the Cubs and fell behind early, the Reds scored four runs in the bottom of the third inning, giving him a lead. But Abbott couldn't hold it in the top of the fourth.
Chicago tied the game with two runs in the fourth and went on to score six unanswered runs to sink the Reds in an 8-4 loss on Sunday at Great American Ball Park.
“Always," manager Terry Francona responded when asked if giving up a lead right after taking one was more frustrating. "That’s a very big inning. In my opinion, it’s the most important inning. I know it happens sometimes more than once but when you score, you’ve got to shut them down.”
The Reds went 3-6 on their final first-half homestand by dropping two of three games to the Orioles, Phillies and now, the Cubs.
“It just seems like we can’t string wins together at the moment, it’s frustrating," said center fielder Spencer Steer, who went 2-for-5 on Sunday.
Throwing 79 pitches over only four innings, Abbott gave up four runs and four hits with three walks and three strikeouts.
“I fell behind and really had to grind to get them out," Abbott said.
A 31-pitch first inning that began with a leadoff walk to Pete Crow-Armstrong led to a pair of runs and a 2-0 Chicago lead. Abbott seemingly recovered and retired seven in a row heading into the fourth.
Even better for Abbott was the Reds' lineup fighting back against lefty starter Matthew Boyd to take a 4-2 lead. Eugenio Suárez’s 11th home run of the season, a two-run drive to left field against Boyd, put Cincinnati ahead.
That lead immediately slipped through Abbott's fingers.
It started with a four-pitch walk to Carson Kelly and a double to right field by Michael Busch. With one out, another four-pitch walk to Ian Happ loaded the bases. With two outs, Kevin Alcantara appeared to hit a grounder up the middle towards second baseman Edwin Arroyo before the ball skipped off of second base and went into center field for a game-tying two-run single.
"Third time through the lineup, we were looking at matchups facing those guys just trying to keep the momentum on our side," Abbott said. "Heat has zapped you, you’re out of energy. Facing these guys, you don’t want to put your team in a bad spot. Just being able to hold them, the baseball gods said you’re going to get a couple of bad bounces -- can’t do anything about it.”
The ball ricocheting off the bag may have been a bad break for Abbott. His pair of walks were not.
“You get unlucky when the ball hits the base but if we don’t have the walks it doesn’t matter," Francona said.
Abbott has a 4.11 ERA through 20 starts but has a 3.18 ERA over his last 14 after opening the season 0-2 with a 6.59 ERA in his first six games.
“I still had a pretty good first half after a rough patch starting," Abbott said. "To end it on a strong note, to be healthy for one, that’s always a big thing with me. You can’t ask for more.”
After a leadoff double against Chase Petty by Dansby Swanson in the seventh inning, the Cubs added on four more runs against Sam Moll and Pierce Johnson. Alex Bregman's three-run homer against Johnson iced the game.
Now a season-high nine games under .500 at 43-52, the Reds are 23-41 since May 1. The big killer for them this season has been poor performances against division rivals. Cincinnati is 6-22 against the National League Central.
Francona hoped his players could be rejuvenated by the four-day All-Star break.
"Our record certainly isn’t anywhere near what we want to be and we know that," he said. "Still, it’s a good group and they play hard and they’re exhausted. This will be good for them.”
This is far from where the Reds expected to be coming off of a playoff appearance in 2025.
“Just reset, take some time to get away from the game, enjoy time with our families, enjoy the rest our body gets and our minds get, come back ready to play with our hair on fire," Steer said. "It’s pretty obvious we’ve got to go on a run here.”