The Reds beat Matt Clement and the Cubs 5-3 to take two of three at the GAP. To be honest, Clement didn't look good at all, and the Cubs were lucky to be within fighting distance near the end of the game.

While Clement's poor outing will get the most attention, the Cubs' hackfest at the plate was also a great contributer to the loss. 14 of the Cubs' 27 outs were made with the batter having seen fewer than four pitches in the at-bat, with a whopping seven first-pitch outs:

CUBS BATTING OUTS MADE ON PITCH NUMBER:
 
one:    7
two:    3
three:  4
four:   6
five:   4
six:    2
eleven: 1

At least Dusty is happy, watching his team do its best to avoid free passes. The Cubs had no walks today, and only once in the entire game did a Cub hitter get to ball three in a count. Do you know who that was (and surprisingly, it didn't happen in that eleven-pitch at-bat)?

Not to be all negative, though: Sosa looked awesome today, smashing balls the other way and pulling a nice homer to bring the Cubs closer.