Cubs can't complete comeback, Maddon tossed

Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon was around just long enough Tuesday to endure a poor start by his team and, in his mind, by home-plate umpire Jerry Meals.

But Meals saw to it that Maddon wasn't around to see a Cubs comeback fall short, as they fell 9-5 to the Cincinnati Reds at Wrigley Field.

Maddon was not enamored of Meals' work, and he let the umpire know about it in the second inning. Meals invited Maddon to leave the premises.

Cubs starting pitcher John Lackey gave up 2 runs in each of the first two innings. The Cubs rallied from a 5-0 deficit with 4 runs in the third but could not catch up.

On the day, Cubs batters hit 4 home runs, including 2 by Addison Russell and 1 by Kris Bryant, giving him 25 for the season.

Lackey walked three batters in the first inning, and catcher David Ross had a passed ball and a throwing error in the inning.

“It's so uncharacteristic, the walks,” said Maddon, whose team fell to 52-31. “You don't normally see John walking guys, especially early in the game, and then that happened.”

Lackey wound up working 6 innings, giving up 6 hits and 6 runs (5 earned), as his record fell to 7-5 with a 3.50 ERA. He issued walks to Billy Hamilton and Joey Votto with one out in the first. With Jay Bruce up, Ross was charged with a passed ball. He then threw the ball past Lackey trying to get Hamilton at home. Bruce walked and later scored on a single by Brandon Phillips.

Lackey allowed Maddon to handle the umpire situation.

“It happens,” Lackey said. “Guys miss calls. I miss pitches. Nobody's perfect out there. The problem you run into is when guys are just adamant in wanting to admit that they could have missed it. We're all men out here. I made bad pitches. Sometimes they (umpires) miss them too.”

The Cubs hit 3 homers in the third. Javier Baez led off with his ninth of the year. Kris Bryant added a solo shot one out later. Russell hit a 2-run shot to cap the inning. In the fifth, Russell hit his second of the game and his 11th of the season.

“But still, (we) got back in the game,” Maddon said. “Give our guys credit. We came back. We had a chance. Four home runs in a game and not winning is unusual, but I guess it can happen here.”