It took 11 months, a few round trips to the minors and back, more than 1,400 pitches, and, almost improbably, 17 starts for Johan Oviedo to get within one inning of the career first he’s been chasing the entire time.
It all came apart with him watching from the dugout.
Closer Alex Reyes entered a tenuous ninth and could not douse the bases-loaded kindling left behind by reliever Luis Garcia. The Cubs trailed by five entering the final inning Tuesday at Busch Stadium and turned a series of walks and Javier Baez's two-run single into a tighter game than it had been in hours. Ian Happ’s double into the right-field corner flipped the game into a Cubs 7-6 victory and gave Reyes the first blown save of his career after going 24-for-24 to start. He was 22-for-22 this season. Three of the Cubs’ runs came as a result of the two walks and two hits All-Star Reyes allowed while collecting only one out.
