Reds losing streak reaches new low after Tyler Stephenson's embarrassing gaffe

The Cincinnati Reds are mired in the middle of an atrocious losing streak, and Tyler Stephenson's unfortunate mistake during Thursday's game against the Chicago Cubs just about sums up everything that's gone wrong during the team's current road trip.

After starting pitcher Rhett Lowder left the game with shoulder discomfort during the bottom of the fourth inning, Connor Phillips came on in relief. There were already two runners on, and unfortunately, the Reds' right-hander walked the first two batters he faced — the second of which allowed the runner to score from third base and gave Chicago a 2-0 lead.

With the bases loaded and no outs, Phillips 1-1 pitch to Cubs' shortstop Dansby Swanson was hit down the third base line and into the glove of Ke'Bryan Hayes. The Reds third baseman stepped on the bag and threw home for the force play at the plate. Stephenson, however, inexcusably did not tag the runner and the Cubs were able to score another run.

After that, the floodgates opened. The Cubs eventually tacked on another five runs thanks to back-to-back singles and a double during the bottom-half of the fourth inning and led 8-0 heading into the fifth.

Tyler Stephenson's gaffe is a microcosm of Reds' losing streak

Stephenson's mistake is inexcusable, and he'll be the first one to tell you. But he's far from the only player who's made a costly error during the Reds' seven-game losing streak.

As recently as Wednesday night, rookie infielder Sal Stewart got caught in no-man's land while standing on third base. A ball off the bat of Spencer Steer rolled toward Cubs' infielder Alex Bregman and caught Stewart leaning toward home plate. He was tagged out on the base path and Reds failed to score a run despite runners on first and third with nobody out.

Elly De La Cruz had a major whiff during extra innings on Tuesday night that allowed the Cubs to walk it off in the 10th inning. De La Cruz foolishly tried to backhand a ball shot right back up the middle and misplayed it. The ball trickled into center field, and the ghost runner at second came around to score the winning run.

The Reds left the fundamentals back in Cincinnati, and the fanbase is hoping that they can discover them once again. Reds manager Terry Francona preaches playing a clean brand of baseball, but it's been anything but over the last week.

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