The Cubs were on the verge of taking their third straight series on Sunday before Kevin Gregg struck again.
The Cubs’ closer blew a game for the second straight night, this time in stunning fashion in a 3-2 loss to Florida.
With one out in the ninth, Gregg served up home runs on back-to-back pitches to Dan Uggla and Cody Ross, leaving the Cubs a half-game behind Central Division-leading St. Louis.
“It wasn’t pretty,” manager Lou Piniella said. “Two pitches, two home runs. … What are you going to do?”
Gregg had converted 10 straight save opportunities coming into the series, but he suffered his third loss and fifth blown save in 26 chances. He gave up three two-out runs in the ninth inning of Saturday night’s game, sending it into extra innings before Derrek Lee’s leadoff homer in the 10th won it for the Cubs.
After Sunday’s game, Gregg leads all National League relievers with 10 home runs allowed.
“What can I do?” Piniella said. “We’ve got the game in the closer’s hands, and it’s his game. Just didn’t get the job done.”
The loss spoiled what would’ve been a nice start to the 10-game trip. Ryan Dempster threw six shutout innings in his second start since returning from a broken right big toe, and Jake Fox’s leadoff homer in the ninth off Brendan Donnelly put the Cubs in position to take the series.
“It would’ve been a lot of fun,” Fox said. “That might’ve been my first time to be in that position, but my heart has dropped for Kevin, because he’s got some great stuff and just fell on the unfortunate end of it the last two nights. I have all the confidence he’ll come back and be right where he needs to be.”
With one out, Uggla hit a 3-1 slider deep into the left-field bleachers, tying the game. Before the crowd had settled down, Ross deposited a fastball over the fence, setting off a wild celebration.
“It was two pitches,” Gregg said. “Twenty-five guys put together a great effort, and in two pitches, we walk out of here losing.”
It was the first time a major-league game has been won on back-to-back home runs since 2005, when Adam Dunn and Joe Randa did it Opening Day for the Reds.
It was Ross’ second homer of the game. He’d tied it in the seventh with a homer off Aaron Heilman.
Gregg said losing to his former team in his old ballpark made no difference to him.
“Truly, I just hate losing, that’s the biggest thing,” he said. “It could be any ballpark. I don’t want to be like that out there.”
Dempster can empathize with Gregg, being a former Cubs closer who has gone through some tough streaks of his own.
“There’s not too many guys that don’t go through it,” Dempster said. “It’s going to happen. We’re all going to have bad games.”
Lee insisted the Cubs will be fine, and the two blown saves are just a blip in a long season.
“Sometimes the other team just does their job.”
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psullivan@tribune.com
Up next
Monday at Reds, 6:10 p.m., WCIU-Ch. 26
