Colin Rea gives up just two runs, but takes loss

Rea pitched the second half of the game after Clay Holmes surrendered four runs in four innings. Besides a couple of times working behind openers, it was Rea’s first relief appearance since Apr. 3. This might be Rea’s role of the foreseeable future after the Cubs acquired Holmes and Kevin Gausman at the deadline. They also have Edward Cabrera on the way back, potentially making things even more crowded in the rotation.

Gausman departs Toronto with just a couple of months to go on the five-year, $110 million contract he signed as a free agent prior to the 2022 season. He’s posted a 4.38 ERA this season, but his strikeout rate has held steady at 23.5 percent and he has a 3.85 xERA and a 3.95 SIERA. He’s also about as reliable as pitchers come, which is pretty important given the state of the Cubs rotation. Colin Rea could get bumped to the pen to make room for him. The Jays will likely replace him with Jameson Taillon, who they acquired from the Cubs in a separate deal earlier in the day.

Rea gave up a sac fly in the fourth inning, and that was it. The 36-year-old veteran scattered four hits and two walks, and he was able to pick up a pair of strikeouts. It was far from dominant, but more than effective enough with the Cubs giving him double-digit run support. Despite this solid effort, it’d be a mistake to trust Rea as a streamer in his scheduled start Sunday against the Yankees.

The extent of the damage against Rea here came via two home runs. The first was a solo shot by Spencer Torkelson in the second inning on a 1-2 slider that caught too much of the plate and the next was a three-run blast by Hao-Yu Lee on a 3-0 fastball in the fourth. Otherwise, he allowed very little contact and didn’t encounter many other stressful situations. He’s scheduled for a two-start week coming up against the Cardinals and Yankees.

Rea retired six of the first seven batters he faced in this one, but in the third inning, the Twins jumped on him, notching four hits against the righty, with the biggest coming on a three-run homer by Ryan Jeffers to put the Twins up 4-1. Rea would settle in after the tough frame to get through three more innings before being pulled to start the seventh inning. Rea has allowed three earned runs or fewer in five straight starts, but hasn’t picked up a win since June 9th. He’ll look to end his winless streak in his next start, which is scheduled for Wednesday against the Tigers.

Rea allowed seven hits, walked two and struck out just two. He also gave up a two-run homer to Pete Alonso. Still, he kept it together and departed with a 4-3 lead that held up, even though the final score was 9-7. Rea ends the first half 7-5 with a 4.75 ERA. Ideally, the Cubs will be able to stick him in middle relief at some point, but it’s not like he’s holding them back.

It wasn’t Rea’s best performance, but he had an 11-run cushion by the time he departed. The veteran righty has been a key part of the Cubs’ rotation as they’ve battled a long list of injuries, prompting a recent trade to acquire David Peterson from the Mets for immediate help. Rea is only a deep-league streaming option in his next start on the road against the Orioles.

Going toe-to-toe with Jacob Misiorowski, Rea did everything he could to keep his team in contention. The righty escaped a bases-loaded jam in the first inning when he forced Andrew Vaughn to ground out to end the threat, and took a shutout into the sixth inning. After allowing the first two runners he faced to reach base in the sixth, Rea was relieved by Ethan Roberts, who forced a double play to immediately get two outs, but gave up a two-run homer to Garrett Mitchell on the following at-bat to put the Brewers up 2-1. Rea would get charged with one earned run on the night, with the loss being credited to Roberts. Rea’s next start is scheduled for Wednesday against the Padres.

Rea was perfect through four innings, holding the Blue Jays without a baserunner until Brandon Valenzuela led off the fifth with a base hit. He stranded the one runner and started the sixth with two straight hits allowed. He recorded one out, then was replaced on the mound at 78 pitches. Both inherited runners were stranded. It was Rea’s best start in over a month as he came into this one with a 5.35 ERA. The 35-year-old right-hander ends the day with a 4.99 ERA, 1.40 WHIP, and a 59/28 K/BB ratio across 79 1/3 innings. He’ll take on the Mets in New York on Thursday.

Ryan Rolison retired all four batters he faced as the opener today. Rea then kept the Giants scoreless until the fifth, when he gave up three of his four runs. The three hits in that inning were a 52-mph flare over Alex Bregman’s head, a popup double into no man’s land down the left field line and then a homer from Matt Chapman that would have stayed in play in 27 ballparks. Rea fell to 5-5 with a 5.35 ERA. He’s probably looking at a move to the bullpen if Matthew Boyd can return later this month. If the Cubs stay in the current rotation, he’ll face the Blue Jays on Saturday, but they could make adjustments after Thursday’s off day.