Miley Struggles In Debut, Reds’ Late Rally Vs. Cubs Falls Short, 8-7
CINCINNATI (AP) — Manager David Ross was starting to relax with a seven-run lead. Didn’t take long for him to remember from his playing days that Great American Ball Park can erase most anything.
Anthony Rizzo homered for the third time as Chicago built a seven-run lead, and the Cubs let most of it slip away before Jeremy Jeffress closed out an 8-7 victory over a Cincinnati Reds team coping with coronavirus uncertainty.
Then, Ross could exhale.
“I played here in Cincinnati and understand how quickly things can turn around,” the first-year manager said. “The other team never feels out of the game. This field makes you feel a homer is just around the corner.”
Down 8-1 in the seventh inning, the Reds cut it to 8-5 on Joey Votto’s two-run single. Craig Kimbrel walked the bases loaded with one out in the ninth, and then hit Freddy Galvis and walked Tyler Stephenson to cut it to 8-7.
Ross decided to bring in Jeffress, who fanned Phillip Ervin and retired Votto on a liner to center for his first save with the Cubs.
“What baseball’s all about,” Jeffress said.
Rizzo scored three times as the Cubs won for the third time in four games. The Reds dropped to 1-3, an especially disappointing start after their $165 million offseason makeover.
The Cubs arrived at a ballpark that had a brush with COVID-19. Reds infielder Matt Davidson went on the injured list Saturday after testing positive for the coronavirus, and teammates Mike Moustakas and Nick Senzel were sick a day later. The Reds were awaiting further results Monday.
The Cubs were aware of how the virus has spread through the Marlins, with three games postponed as a result.
“It’s a little bit scary, but like I said, man, you just have to try to trust in this process and trust in the protocols we have in place,” said Jon Lester, who threw five hitless innings.
Ian Happ, the Cubs’ union representative, said players were pleased with precautions in place when they arrived at Great American, putting them at ease.
They were on the dugout railing cheering as eight Cubs went to the plate in the first inning of Wade Miley’s first start for the Reds, who signed him to a two-year deal so they would have a left-hander in the rotation.
It went badly right away.
“He struggled, but he’s been through it before,” Reds manager David Bell said. “He’s going to bounce back.”
Miley hit Kris Bryant with his second pitch, walked Rizzo, and gave up Willson Contreras‘ double. Steven Souza Jr. Doubled home two more in his Cubs debut, and David Bote‘s single made it 4-0 after only 28 pitches.
Javier Báez doubled home another run in the second, and Miley left after retiring only five of the 13 batters he faced. Rizzo hit a solo homer in the sixth off Tejay Antone.
Lester (1-0) handed a 6-0 lead over to the Cubs’ bullpen, having thrown 76 pitches on a muggy night. Jesse Winker got the Reds’ first hit an inning later, an RBI single off Rowan Wick.
Stephenson homered in his first major league plate appearance, the third in Reds history to do so and the first since Ted Tappe on Sept. 14, 1950, at Brooklyn.
✅First Major League at-bat.✅First Major League home run.
Congratulations, @Tyler_Step22!#TakeTheCentral pic.Twitter.Com/QErG4dPSj7
— FOX Sports Cincinnati (@FOXSportsCincy) July 28, 2020
“I can’t explain it,” Stephenson said. “He missed with a curveball. I was looking for a fastball over the plate. I don’t know what happened. I said to myself, ‘I don’t want to miss it.’”
That smile says it all.@Tyler_Step22 reflects on his unforgettable @Reds and Major League debut, from homering in his first at-bat to facing Craig Kimbrel in the 9th.#TakeTheCentral pic.Twitter.Com/XWka4gdG8k
— FOX Sports Cincinnati (@FOXSportsCincy) July 28, 2020
RAIN, RAIN
The start of the game was delayed an hour and 47 minutes as a storm moved through.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Cubs: Bryant, Rizzo, Contreras and Albert Almora Jr. Were hit by pitches — Rizzo twice — but stayed in the game.
Reds: Right-hander Anthony DeSclafani felt no problems after throwing off a mound, leaving him in line to make his next scheduled start. His first turn through the rotation was skipped because of soreness in his side.
UP NEXT
Cubs: Alec Mills makes his third career start against the Reds. He got his first career victory against Cincinnati at Sept. 16.
Reds: Tyler Mahle starts in place of DeSclafani. Mahle is 2-1 in five career starts against the Cubs with a 4.93 ERA.
Cincinnati Reds Comeback Falls Short As The Chicago Cubs Win The Series Opener
Click to expandUP NEXT
KPIX Investigation Finds San Jose Gyms Defying State Shutdown Orders
Despite state and county orders that fitness studios and gyms must not operate indoors, KPIX discovered three gyms in San Jose defying the orders. Maria Medina reports. (7-27-20)
Fear Grips Major League Baseball as Virus Puts Reopened Season in Doubt
There's much uncertainty and some fear in the ranks of Major League Baseball, as coronavirus spreads through one team’s clubhouse. Andrea Nakano reports. (7-27-20)
Royals hit six homers in 14-6 rout of Tigers
Maikel Franco hit two of Kansas City's six home runs, and the Royals pounded the Tigers 14-6, spoiling Detroit's fan-free home opener.
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The Cincinnati Reds will host the Chicago Cubs in a four-game series this week starting Monday.
Follow along as Enquirer's Bobby Nightengale, John Fay and Sam Greene cover the game from Great American Ball Park, and get live scores below.
© Sam Greene/Cincinnati Enquirer The Reds grounds crew struggles to cover the infield as a rain storm passes over Great American Ball Park in downtown Cincinnati on Monday, July 27, 2020.[ Download the Cincinnati.Com sports app for scores, analysis and more. ]
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This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati Reds comeback falls short as the Chicago Cubs win the series opener
Sources: Vote To Change Police Union's Legal Representation Falls Short
Dan Hils, Cincinnati Fraternity of Police president, speaks during a press conference called by the FOP on Monday, June 22, 2020, in Over The Rhine. (Photo: Albert Cesare / The Enquirer)
Cincinnati's police union voted Monday on whether to set in motion a change to their legal counsel, but the vote did not pass, according to an attorney involved and a union member.
Attorney Peter Stackpole, who hoped his firm would replace the union's current lawyer of 31 years, said he was told the motions needed to start the changes didn't not receive the necessary votes to pass.
Stackpole, who did not attend the 3-plus hour meeting, said it was his understanding that the motions had a majority of those voting in favor, but did not pass because many active officers had to leave the meeting to go to work. Because they were in attendance at the beginning, they were counted toward the total number of members present.
Louis Arnold is a member of the police union and the president of Sentinels Police Association, which represents Black officers, His organization opposed the change.
Arnold told the Enquirer Tuesday night that the vote to overturn the executive order extending the current lawyer's contract did not pass.
It is unclear if further attempts will be made to undo the current contract, but Arnold said it was clear that when the 18-month contract is up the full membership of the union will be far more involved in the process.
Police union president Sgt. Dan Hils supported the change to the legal council. He spoke The Enquirer before the meeting.
"It is clear that police are under the microscope and under fire by radical organizations that wish to do us harm, and we are all working together to ensure that we have the best representation possible," he said.
Hils said he envisions a legal strategy that potentially involves suing the media and organizations if they libel or slander police.
"I believe the FOP must respond when its members are defamed or harassed or put in danger by those who wish to do us harm," Hils said.
Hils said police officers have been targeted for harassment, false accusations and doxxing by "antifa and other similar Marxist organizations assisted by left-wing media."
"Being critical of your government, including police, is a first amendment right that we protect," Hils said. "But slandering our members deserves a response."
The union already has a contract with Cincinnati lawyer Steve Lazarus and his firm, Lazarus and Lewis, who have represented the police union for 31 years.
The Enquirer reported last week that Hils is pushing the FOP to hire a new Cincinnati firm, led by Zachary Gottesman and a former city attorney, Peter Stackpole, which Hils says will be more aggressive.
According to that report, the union's executive board disagrees with Hils and wants to keep its current representation, a contract that Hils signed off on.
Even if Monday's vote had passed, it would not have immediately changed the lawyer for the union. It would have overturned the decisions of the board to enter into the contract with Lazarus.
The decision on legal counsel could set the tone for how the union responds to calls for police reform.
In a letter to Hils from the Sentinels sent before the meeting, that group's leadership said to replace Lazarus with Gottesman is "repugnant to the Sentinels and contrary to the interest of the entire membership."
Arnold said they aren't opposing this action to defend Lazarus, but to oppose Gottesman.
"We're fighting because Gottesman has sued the Sentinels and he has sued two members of the Sentinels police association," Arnold said.
On Facebook, Stackpole said the Sentinels were added to a lawsuit only so they could be a party to the result of the suit. He said Sentinels were dropped from the suit after they said they did not want to be a party. Arnold does not see it that way.
"How can he represent us when he has sued our organization and members of our organization?" Arnold said. "We don't think he can represent our members and we don't trust him to do that."
Arnold said the Sentinels are satisfied with the vote.
"There were some stiff arguments presented on both sides," Arnold said.
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