Chicago Cubs’ closer is on the wrong side of history following blow up in the 11th inning on Tuesday

The Chicago Cubs had a chance to claim a series at home the begin the week against the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday night, but could not get the job done. The team put on a clinic at the plate in Monday’s series opener, winning the contest 9-2. Dansby Swanson stayed red hot since being moved down to the bottom of the order and Carson Kelly clubbed out his eighth home run of the campaign.

Colin Rea got the start for Chicago on Tuesday and surrendered five runs in his five innings of work. While fans would have liked a stronger start from the veteran, he held a dazzling 1.46 ERA through seven appearance and four starts this season entering play last night, so he was due for a slight hiccup.

Down two runs in the ninth inning, the Cubs fought back to tie the contest at five with two outs thanks to a base hit up the middle from Kyle Tucker. However, Chicago couldn’t seal the deal in the ninth, as Seiya Suzuki struck out with the winning run on second base. After Porter Hodge worked a scoreless top of the 10th, the Cubs couldn’t push across the winning run in the bottom half, which led to a disastrous 11th inning. This frame could lead to a change in Chicago’s bullpen at some point moving forward.

Chicago Cubs’ closer Ryan Pressly is on the wrong side of history

Ryan Pressly allowed eight earned runs on five hits without recording an out in the 11th inning in Tuesday’s 14-5 loss. His season ERA shot up from 2.08 to 7.62 with this appearance, and the veteran joined the wrong type of history in the collapse.

Per OptaSTATS on X, Pressly is the only MLB reliever to allow eight or more earned runs in a game, not get an out and take the loss since earned runs became official in both leagues in 1913. This is not a good look for Pressly, who came over in an offseason trade with the Houston Astros with the intention of solving the Cubs’ issues in the ninth inning that they dealt with all of last season.

Pressly previously worked an inning in Chicago’s 8-3 victory on the road on May 1 against Pittsburgh. Some could chalk this rough outing up to him not working in the previous four games, but his stuff not landing where he needed to on Tuesday suggests otherwise.

Ryan Pressly might not be the Chicago Cubs closer much longer

It was known entering this season that Pressly would serve as a mentor to Hodge. With the veteran having just one year left on his current contract, it was hard to imagine him spending more than one year in the Windy City. Unfortunately, it appears that Pressly may have to give up his ninth inning role with the organization much earlier than originally planned.

Hodge has appeared in 17 games this season and has a 4.50 ERA in 16.0 innings pitched. The 24-year-old has a 2-0 record and six holds as the eighth inning guy ahead of Pressly after collecting nine saves in 39 appearances in the 2024 campaign.