Chicago Cubs: Offense blanked in 5-0 series-opening shutout loss to Reds

The Chicago Cubs failed to capitalize on any momentum and the offense fell flat, dropping Friday’s series opener to the Cincinnati Reds by a 5-0 final.

So much for turning a corner. One day after pulling out a win in the top of the ninth against the National League-leading Washington Nationals, the Chicago Cubs’ offense managed only three hits against the Cincinnati Reds’ pitching staff.

Chicago (40-40) once again falls back to the .500 mark. Mike Montgomery pitched well, despite being saddled with the loss. In his longest start of the season, the southpaw allowed four runs on nine hits. He struck out seven across 6 2/3 innings of work.

Most of that damage came in the bottom of the fourth, when Adam Duvall took the 1-1 pitch from Montgomery and deposited it into the right-field seats. At that point, the Cubs had yet to pick up their first hit of the game.

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Former Cub Scott Feldman dominated from the word ‘go.’ The right-hander struck out seven and allowed just two hits in seven innings of work. From there, the Reds’ bullpen shut the door, allowing one hit over the final two frames.

Cincinnati (34-45) kept the Cubs out of the hit column till the sixth, when Ian Happ broke the seal. In the game, the team only managed four at-bats with runners in scoring position and failed to deliver in any of them.

The Reds added an insurance run run a safety squeeze in the sixth. A throwing error in the eighth accounted for the final tally of the game for Cincinnati.

What’s Next

Eddie Butler (4-2, 3.71) starts on Saturday for Chicago. Rookie right-hander Jackson Stephens (0-0, 0.00) makes his big-league debut for the Reds.

First pitch is at 3:10 p.m. CT at Great American Ballpark.

Next: Cubs' fans must learn to look ahead - not the past