Cincinnati Reds: Emilio Pagán injured in another walk-off defeat in Chicago

May 6—CHICAGO — First, Cincinnati Reds closer Emilio Pagán collapsed after throwing a pitch in the ninth inning due to a hamstring injury that will land him on the injured list. Then, one inning later, Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz botched a routine grounder that allowed the game-winning run to score in extra innings.

The Chicago Cubs beat the Reds, 3-2, on a walk-off single by first baseman Michael Busch. It was a tough loss, but the biggest blow was Pagán's injury.

"It's a tough pill to swallow," Reds catcher Jose Trevino said. "As one of our leaders, as one of our captains, one of the dudes that cares about this team more than a lot of us, he's a big piece of this. I don't know the results yet. I'm not a doctor. Obviously, it didn't look good. It's tough, man. We're going to be resilient about it. EP would want us to be resilient about it."

The Reds got a great start from Andrew Abbott, who pitched 5 2/3 shutout innings. With a crisper fastball, a confident mound presence and a great feel for pitching, Abbott continued his bounce back following a slow start.

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He got some help in the sixth inning as reliever Connor Phillips got out of a bases loaded jam. On the whole, Abbott picked up a Reds' team that needed a boost as it entered the game on a losing streak.

But the Reds' offense couldn't extend its narrow lead, and the margin for error fell out from under them late in the game.

In the eighth inning, Busch hit the game-tying homer off reliever Tony Santillan, who left a fastball over the heart of the plate.

"I'm fine," Santillan said. "I trust the process. The last couple of years, I've told myself to be better at keeping it very neutral. Being in that situation, being the guy the team relies on to get the game to the closer, that comes with the territory."