CHICAGO — Cincinnati Reds closer Emilio Pagan will be put on the injured list after leaving Tuesday’s game against the Chicago Cubs because of a left hamstring injury.
Pagan, 34, will undergo additional tests Wednesday to determine the severity of the injury.
“He’s going to get scanned in the morning,” manager Terry Francona said after the team’s 3-2 loss in 10 innings. “We just have to see the extent of how bad he did it. You could see by his reaction he was struggling.”
Pagan fell to the ground after throwing the first pitch of the ninth inning, immediately grabbing the back of his left leg. He stayed on the grass near the mound for several minutes before being carted off. Right-hander Jose Franco took his place, walking two hitters before getting out of the inning.
The Reds lost the game one inning later, their fifth consecutive defeat.
Afterward, all thoughts were with Pagan, who has struggled this season. He has six saves to go along with a 6.43 ERA after he got walked off Monday when he gave up the tying, then winning, run in the ninth.
“He’s a big piece of this,” catcher Jose Trevino said. “It didn’t look good. It’s tough, but we’ll be resilient about it.”
Cubs manager Craig Counsell added: “You never feel good about that for a player. That’s a bad feeling for everybody.”
The Cubs scored single runs in the seventh, eighth and 10th innings to snatch their 13th consecutive win at home. It was their second walk-off in a row, the first time that has happened in exactly five years — May 4 and 5, 2021.
Meanwhile, the Reds have lost three consecutive one-run games after starting the season 7-0 in one-run affairs.
“Things are going to happen,” Trevino said. “Baseball is unpredictable. Things like this are going to happen to our team. It’s up to our team to keep playing.”
