Cubs' 1-0 loss to Reds unlocks dubious season-first, as they hand NL Central title to Brewers

CINCINNATI — The Cubs’ 1-0 loss to the Reds on Sunday decided the National League Central race and unlocked a series of dubious firsts for the team this season.

“They're having a great season,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said of the Brewers, who clinched the division title with the Cubs’ loss. “They’ve got the best record in the game by a pretty good margin. They've been wonderful the second half of the season. … They're going to put up a huge number.”

The Cubs, swept in four games in Cincinnati, put together their longest losing streak of the season.

Not only were they shut out Sunday, but they also failed to score in the series opener. It was the first time all year that they’d been shut out twice in a series.

“Obviously would have loved to get out of here with some wins,” said Cubs starter Jameson Taillon, who held the Reds to one run in seven innings. “But that's a team that's extremely motivated and playing for their lives, and they just played really well.”

The Reds scored their only run by linking together doubles from Matt McLain and Gavin Lux in the third inning.

The three other hits Taillon allowed were all singles, one of which bounced just out of diving third baseman Justin Turner’s reach in the first inning.

With one out in the seventh inning, after a second-pitch fastball to Ke’Bryan Hays, Taillon shook out his left leg and tested it with a squat. Counsell and an athletic trainer ran out to check on him.

“I just felt like I landed into my glute a little bit differently, felt a small little cramp,” Taillon said. “... Might be a little sore tomorrow or something, but I'm not worried about it at all.”

Taillon was in his third start since a short stint on the 15-day IL with a strained left groin. But after a conversation and warmup pitch, he remained in the game to put the finishing touches on a start that Counsell deemed "excellent."

Wild card watch

During the 71-minute rain delay before the game, the Great American Ball Park video boards played the Mets’ game against the Nationals.

At the time, the Mets were a game ahead of the Reds and occupying the last NL wild card spot. The Reds fans in the stands cheered for Washington as they waited for their own team to take the field.

The Nationals claimed a 3-2 victory — which the Reds showed on the scoreboards during the seventh-inning stretch. So, when the Reds beat the Cubs, they pulled into the third wild card spot by matching the Mets’ record (80-76) and owning the tiebreaker.

The Cubs face the Mets at Wrigley Field this week.

Shaw out

Cubs third baseman Matt Shaw attended the funeral of a friend Sunday, Counsell said, and was expected to be back by the Cubs’ next game, on Tuesday.

Shaw attended the memorial service of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk, the Sun-Times learned. Shaw was also scratched from the Cubs starting lineup on Sept. 10, the day of Kirk’s death. Kirk’s memorial service was held Sunday in Arizona.