Observations: Cubs losing streak hits new season high

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The Cubs extended their losing streak to a season high with a 14-5 loss at Cincinnati.

Their 12 straight losses include series sweeps at the hands of the White Sox, Brewers and Marlins.

The Cubs passed their previous season high of 11 consecutive losses, a streak in late June through early July that turned the Cubs into trade deadline sellers.

Here are 10 observations from the game:

  1. With 12 straight losses, the Cubs are just two away from the franchise’s single-season record. The last time the Cubs posted a 12-game losing streak was 2012, the club’s last rebuild.
  2. Cubs left-hander Justin Steele, in his second major-league start, allowed two runs in four innings. He showed composure, with traffic on the bases every inning he pitched.  
  3. Steele's glove provided a couple highlights. He upset the Reds’ plans for a squeeze play in the second inning, charging a bunt from Reds pitcher Wade Miley and flipping it home to get Tyler Naquin out. That marked the second out of a scoreless frame. Steele made another nice play on a Miley bunt in the fourth inning, spinning to get out the lead runner at second base.
  4. Steele pitched out of trouble in the third inning. With runners on first and third, Steele struck out Kyle Farmer and Eugenio Suarez and then induce a flyout from Aristides Aquino to keep the game knotted at 0-0.
  5. Reds leadoff hitter Jonathan India broke the scoreless tie in the fourth, blasting a two-run homer to left.
  6. The next inning, this time with Cubs rookie Michael Rucker on the mound, Aquino doubled the Reds’ runs with a two-run homer of his own. He worked a seven-pitch at-bat to do so, after falling behind 0-2 in the count.
  7. Reds first baseman Joey Votto logged his 2,000th career hit in the bottom of the seventh inning. He got a standing ovation for the no-out single and raised his helmet to the crowd to acknowledge the moment. Votto’s hit also moved Nick Castellanos into scoring position.
  8. Moments later, Farmer hit a double off the top of the left field wall to drive in the first run of what would become an eight-run inning.
  9. The Cubs used three different pitchers in the seventh inning (Rucker, Dan Winkler, Jake Jewell), as the Reds sent 13 batters to the plate.
  10. Cubs catcher Robinson Chirinos drove in his team’s first runs of the night in the eighth inning, avoiding the shutout. His two-run single was part of a five-run, two-out rally. Jason Heyward and Ian Happ followed with RBI doubles. 

On deck: The second game of a three-game series at Cincinnati sets up a battle on the mound between Cubs right-hander Kyle Hendricks and Reds righty Vladimir Gutierrez on Tuesday.

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